If a gymnast is looking for his "leo," chances are, he's looking for his gymnastics uniform, not someone named Leonardo. The leo, or leotard, is just one piece of attire that a male gymnast wears. A gymnast changes his attire depending on the event in which he will compete.
Tops
Like the women, the men wear leotards, also called singlets. Made from stretchy nylon and spandex material that hugs the body, the men's leotard is sleeveless, and covers the torso and connects between the legs. Men always wear shorts or pants over their leotards. For practices, men can wear tight-fitting practice shirts, also made from nylon and spandex, or they can wear T-shirts or tank tops tucked into their pants.
Pants
In practice for several events and in competition for floor and vault, men wear shorts. The gymnastic short has an elastic waistline and the classic style hits about mid-thigh, while the long style hits lower, but still above the knees. For competition on the rings, high bar, parallel bars and pommel horse, men wear long stirrup pants. The stirrups connect below the feet.
Footwear
For most apparatuses, men wear thick, white socks. Some men, however, prefer to tumble on the floor event barefoot. On the vault event, you will see some men barefoot and some men wearing low-top shoes that almost look like socks. These vaulting shoes help absorb the shock of the powerful landing. Similar to ballet slippers, vaulting shoes are soft and flexible with rubber soles.
Additional Attire
As they enter the gym to compete, all elite gymnasts wear warm-up suits of lightweight jackets and pants, which resemble track suits. This gives the team a unified look and lets everyone know which club or country the team represents as the name sits on the back of the jacket. Per the warm-up name, these suits help keep the gymnasts warm between events. To prevent blisters and improve the grip, men also wear wrist guards, straps or tape on the hands for the rings, high bar and parallel bars.
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