Olympic viewers losing it over Dutch swimmer's trunks and ask if they're 'legal'
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: Getty/BSR Agency
All eyes were on the men when this year's Olympic athletes took on the 100m breaststroke on Sunday (July 28), but one swimmer got a lot more attention than others.
Surprisingly, I'm not talking about gold medallist Nicolo Martinenghi.
The Italian swimmer certainly put on an incredible show to take the win with a time of 59.03, but it was, in fact, another swimmer a few positions below him that really got people talking.
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Arno Kamminga dove into the pool to represent the Netherlands in the event, but despite claiming two silver medals at his first Olympics in Tokyo, he ultimately placed sixth in the race.
The Netherlands opted for a white-orange color for its swimmers at this year's event, but the pattern on the shorts means it's hard to tell where the shorts end and naked flesh begins.
As a result, a lot of people had to do a double-take when they spotted Kamminga by the pool, just to make sure his swimsuit hadn't gone floating off somewhere.
One person jokingly questioned whether Kamminga's well-fitting swimsuit was 'legal', while another wrote: "Watching the olympics for the sports. the sports in question:", alongside a picture of Kamminga.
While other viewers made clear the swimmer's appearance had prompted them to want to learn more about his career, with many taking a look at his Instagram page after his appearance at the Olympics.
"Like this if the swimsuit brought you here lol," one comment reads, and if you were wondering, it has 563 likes at the time of writing (July 31).
Another reads: "Those swimmers are so cheeky."
Of course, there was much more to Kamminga's performance than the attire he wore, and the athlete admitted afterwards that he was disappointed with his result in the 100m breaststroke.
He shared a picture of himself on the starting block taken before the race, and captioned it with a broken-heart emoji.
"Not what I came for," he wrote alongside the image.
Fans quickly flooded Kamminga with support after seeing his disappointment, with many assuring him he's still an 'inspiration'.
"You are a great athlete, despite the result you have shown how much you are worth and with this post you demonstrate how much commitment and passion you put into everything you do," one person commented, adding: "There will be other opportunities to rejoice and you will deserve them all Arno."
Kamminga lost out in the race to Nic Fink of the US and UK's Adam Peaty, who came in joint second.
The top three were followed by Melvin Imoudu and Lucas Matzerath from Germany, with Kamminga coming in behind them.
