At an Olympics aiming to set the highest level of television standards, the head of broadcasting at the Tokyo Games is trying to banish overly sexualized images of female athletes.
That can be difficult with state-of-the-art technology filming sports — such as beach volleyball, gymnastics, swimming and track — where female athletes' uniforms can be scant and skimpy.
Gymnasts from Germany sent a message against uniforms they believe exploit their sexuality by competing in Tokyo wearing unitards that covered their legs to the ankle.
A stronger protest was made this month away from the Olympics. At a European beach handball event, Norway’s women refused to play in bikini bottoms and instead wanted to wear skin-tight shorts. They were fined for breaking clothing rules.
The International Olympic Committee does not govern those kinds of rules for individual sports, but it does run OBS and controls the broadcast output from Tokyo shown to the world.
