# Why do pole vaulting girls wear little bikini bottoms? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 31, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630 "2012-05-31T05:30:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/41 "2012-06-01T14:38:32Z")
Of course, tight little shorts [aren’t exactly new](http://www.tngenweb.org/scott/images/schools/oneida_hs_girls_basketball_1942.jpg). Although some teams [didn’t get the memo](http://www.docsports.com/images/lib/large/wnba.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/42 "2012-06-01T15:25:34Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > And those rules have been changed to allow less revealing uniforms. Very glad to hear it. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/43 "2012-06-01T16:45:59Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Can we get the Olympic Committee to write a rule encouraging the wearing of “little bikini bottoms”? > This rule has boosted Olympic beach volleyball tremendously-why can’t swimming and diving adopt this very sensible rule?😃 Why not just go back to all athletes competing nude, the way they did in the ancient Greek Olympics? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/44 "2012-06-01T16:51:35Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Well, I’m glad that these accomplished young women are so appreciated for their hard work and obvious talent at a difficult sport. > > Oh, wait. To be fair, it IS called “pole vaulting”. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/45 "2012-06-01T17:36:36Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Seriously? Where has anyone doubted their athletic prowess. The purpose of the OP is merely asking why do professional athletes in a sport wear a specific item if clothing. I bet if the questions were about male sportsmen, no one would read anything into it. Nothing wrong with the question, it’s the leering responses that I just found a bit, you know, ergh. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/46 "2012-06-01T17:46:04Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Nothing wrong with the question, it’s the leering responses that I just found a bit, you know, ergh. What were you expecting from a thread that has the words “little bikini bottoms” in the title? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/47 "2012-06-01T17:58:15Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Nothing wrong with the question, it’s the leering responses that I just found a bit, you know, ergh. Indeed. What is the world coming to when men can feel free to openly appreciate attractive women wearing micro-shorts in public? Harumph good sir, harumph! ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/48 "2012-06-01T18:51:45Z")
Haters gonna hate. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/49 "2012-06-01T19:59:24Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Why not just go back to all athletes competing nude, the way they did in the ancient Greek Olympics? Because sponsors would have a collective fit, of course. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/50 "2012-06-01T20:12:10Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Because sponsors would have a collective fit, of course. Naw. Even if people competed in the nude, they could still have pictures of a Nike swoosh or a Gatorade G drawn on their skin. The competitors could even charge more for sponsor logos, depending on how close to the naughty bits said logos were drawn. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/51 "2012-06-01T20:33:50Z")
> [@tracer](#): > > The competitors could even charge more for sponsor logos, depending on how close to the naughty bits said logos were drawn. I think you’d have to charge less. When players wear logos, it’s not so they can be seen by the people in the stands, it’s to show up on TV and in photographs. Published pictures would probably steer well clear of the naughty bits, and nearby logos would get less exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/52 "2012-06-01T20:58:06Z")
One assumes that any cultural change that allowed us to go back to nude athletes would also be accompanied by a cultural change that would allow us to also show their nudity in the mass media. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/53 "2012-06-02T03:40:38Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I think you’d have to charge less. When players wear logos, it’s not so they can be seen by the people in the stands, it’s to show up on TV and in photographs. Published pictures would probably steer well clear of the naughty bits, and nearby logos would get less exposure. There’s your solution. Instead of blocking out the naughty bits with the traditional black bar or blur, you cover them up with a computer-generated sponsors logo. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/54 "2012-06-02T04:03:53Z")
If male pole vaulters competed in the nude, some might have more of an anatomical disadvantage than others. Would probably really hurt to knock the crossbar off with that pole. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/55 "2012-06-02T14:06:30Z")
> [@Rhaegar](#): > > I don’t know why they wear what they wear, but I just give thanks for Allison Stokke. > > [http://www.totalprosports.com/2009/11/17/allison-stokke-20-incredibly-hot-pole-vaulter-pics/](http://www.totalprosports.com/2009/11/17/allison-stokke-20-incredibly-hot-pole-vaulter-pics/) If she’s 5’ 10" or taller, I recommend she get a Wonder Woman screen test. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/56 "2012-06-03T01:12:20Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > If male pole vaulters competed in the nude, some might have more of an anatomical disadvantage than others. Would probably really hurt to knock the crossbar off with that pole. Speaking of nude male pole vaulters, here is French pole vaulter Renauld Lavillenie doing an ad for underware. I think he is the one who was trying to drum up sponsorship deals a few years back, so he had video of him running naked with his [vaulting] pole through parts of Paris.[spoiler][http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHExPPWg6fU[/spoiler]It](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHExPPWg6fU%5B/spoiler%5DIt) is probably not safe for work, even though the naughty bits are blurred. The NSFW is from the links to other penis related videos. And I should note that most of the pictures linked in the original post are of a single vaulter, Yelena Isinbaeva. She has set multiple world records, indoors and out. I saw her a number of years ago at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in NYC. She looked awesome up close. Her outfit was tiny. The Brazilian vaulter, [Fabiana Murer](http://greenobles.com/photos/fabiana-murer/03/), had an even smaller one though. The linked photo is of her national team uniform, which is not as small as her usual outfit. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/57 "2012-06-03T02:09:47Z")
If my ass looked like that, I’d wear bikini bottoms all the time. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/58 "2012-06-03T15:23:33Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > The Brazilian vaulter, [Fabiana Murer](http://greenobles.com/photos/fabiana-murer/03/), had an even smaller one though. Well, she _IS_ Brazilian, y’know, there’s an image to maintain… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/59 "2012-06-04T12:03:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > In my experience, poor coverage makes that worse, not better. I know I made that as a little joke, but I really am curious: how does less clothing make you less likely to chafe? Isn’t chafing from bare skin rubbing together? **flodnak** is not the first person I’ve seen make that statement as if it’s something we all should know. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630/60 "2012-06-04T12:11:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I know I made that as a little joke, but I really am curious: how does less clothing make you less likely to chafe? Isn’t chafing from bare skin rubbing together? Not necessarily: poorly-fitting clothing and shoes cause chafing too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-pole-vaulting-girls-wear-little-bikini-bottoms/623630.md?page=4)