It wasn’t just Julia Marino’s silver medal performance in the slopestyle event that grabbed attention in Beijing.
Her designer snowboard, with its Prada logo on the bottom, went viral online and prompted a formal notice from the International Olympic Committee that her board ran afoul of competition regulations.
The I.O.C. is famously strict about branding at the Games. The logos on everything from taxis to toilets are covered with tape, and athletes are only allowed to show the manufacturers brand on their sporting equipment.
That is a vital loophole for snowboarders, who often flash the logo printed prominently on the bottom of their boards as they flip and twist high in the air during competition: Burton.