In 2016, shortly before Simone Biles took home five medals at the Rio Olympics while wearing leotards bestrewed with approximately 5,000 crystals, GK Elite, the company behind the leos, announced that it had hit “peak crystal.” GK could not, a spokeswoman said, get any more sparklers on a quarter-yard of fabric.
When it comes to crystals on leotards, however, as when it comes to most Olympian feats, records are made to be broken.
In 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, the American gymnasts wore leotards with 6,400 crystals. During the competition this year, they will level up yet again by modeling some looks with more than 10,000 crystals.