The clear TPU material was custom cut and heat printed on these uniforms and others at the Olympic games. It is designed to be performance enhancing.
If you’ve been looking closely at some of the Olympic uniforms, you may notice a clear film that is applied in some areas. If you’ve been wondering what it is, it’s most likely a heat printed material called TPU or Thermoplastic Polyurethane. It’s a material that bridges the gap between plastic and rubber. As the company that devevloped Thermo-FILM, also a polyurethane product, we know a lot about this type of material. The TPU that is being used on Olympic gymnastics uniforms is considered performance enhancing as it wraps around the body to help with posture and muscle support. Of course, heat printing was used to apply this “performance enhancing” material to performanc wear. And following up on my post from Aug 7, congrats to the USA Women’s Soccer Team on their gold medal win against Japan!