DURBAN: South African sports fans have slammed Team South Africa’s Olympic tracksuits for being unfashionable, baggy and ugly.
The tracksuits were the subject of jokes and harsh criticism on social media, with many questioning why better fitting outfits had not been made for the athletes.
The athletes also wore the tracksuits for the opening ceremony, while many other countries had costumes that depicted their country’s heritage and culture.
On Twitter, sport fans did not hold back, with one fan describing the outfit as something American artist of yesteryear MC Hammer would wear.
Aden Thomas tweeted: “While the world proudly displayed their cultural heritage, Team SA arrived in parachute tracksuits from the 90s.”
At the weekend, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said he agreed that the outfits were not up to scratch.
Mbalulu tweeted: “No swag for team SA at the Olympics. I share same sentiments with all of you. This should never happen again. Our athletes deserve better.”
But in an ironic twist, the much maligned outfits have received praise from the international media. US entertainment website E! Online appeared to praise SA’s outfits.
“If the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers combined their wardrobes and then had a super power that included swaggy dance skills, this is what we’d get.”
Australia’s Fox Sports website also named team SA as one of the best dressed, describing the tracksuits as “retro” and suggested that there was a cunning plan behind it.
“Retro tracksuits are quite possibly God’s greatest gift to the world. So fun, so freaky and so darn hard to resist. You can zip them up, zip them down and vacillate between the two to annoy the hell out of the person next to you.”