At the 1992 Olympics, two Chinese gymnasts received deductions for the fit of their leotards. I’ve always been curious how the Chinese media covered this incident, so I tracked down the relevant article in the People’s Daily, China’s main state newspaper. Here’s what it said.
Chinese Women’s Gymnastics Team Penalized Without Justification Page 4 (Olympic Special Page) · Column: “Mediterranean Waves”
After the women’s team compulsory routines in gymnastics, it emerged that the results sheet showed the Chinese women’s team had been docked 0.25 points. As it turned out, the relevant authorities had deemed the Chinese athletes’ uniforms overly revealing. The Chinese gymnastics team formally raised the matter, stating that the deduction was unacceptable. The Chinese team’s uniforms were far less revealing than those of certain other teams, and there was simply no question of “excessive exposure.” Officials from the competition committee were left without a response.
July 30, 1992, page 4
中国体操女队无端被扣分
在体操女子团体规定动作比赛后，成绩单上意外地出现中国女队被扣掉0.25分的记录。原来是有关方面认为中国运动员的服装过于暴露。中国体操队正式提出交涉，表示难以接受，中国队远没有某些队的服装暴露，根本不存在暴露不暴露的问题。竞委会官员对此无言以对。
It’s worth noting that the actual deduction was 0.20 points, not the 0.25 that the article claims. On the underlying grievance, however, the Chinese team had a point: the style of the era was to hike the leotard high on the hip, meaning the Chinese athletes were hardly outliers.
Here’s another article on the subject:
Olympics Notebook
By United Press International
JULY 27, 1992
BARCELONA, Spain — Showing a littletoo much buttock will cost you in women’s gymnastics.
Two gymnasts from China and one from Czechoslovakia were penalized Monday for dress-code violations during their compulsories.
Zhang Xia and Lu Li were docked one-tenth of a point in China’s team score. Daniela Bártová of Czechoslovakia also was penalized a one-tenth, but that penalty will be taken from her individual score because Czechoslovakia is not entered in the team event.
Dress-code penalties are levied for only two reasons — immodesty or wearing a uniform different in style or color from those of teammates.
The penalties were levied by the International Gymnastics Federation’s Jury of Appeals, one day after the women’s compulsories. Officials did not specify the nature of the violation, but the gymnasts’ leotards apparently showed more leg than allowed.
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