When NBC televised the now infamous nip-slip moment, I wasn't really surprised. First of all, it's live television, and second of all, we're watching women tread water, score goals, and fight off their opponents as they go for the gold — that's no easy feat. When you are working that hard, wardrobe malfunctions are bound to happen. I repeat: wardrobe malfunctions happen. All. The. Time. To everyone. And it's not just happening in London for the 2012 Summer Games. It's happened at Winter Games, past Summer Games, and to us common folk. Granted, you and I aren't walking around with 6.2 million peeps tuning in to see our every move, but still, they happen.
As cringe-worthy as they can be, it's a reminder that even our favorite elite athletes are just like us. Basically, Olympians are not exempt from a few embarrassing moments. And it just makes us love y'all a helluva lot more.
Let's take a look at six of the biggest wardrobe malfunctions of the Games past and present, shall we?
1. Things got a little too up close & personal when the USA team made a big splash against Italy. As luck would have it, cameras just happened to be showing underwater coverage of this 2012 nip-slip.
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkiKLGrpUUM&feature=player_embedded#!
2. In this vid, one of the straps break off Ekaterina Rubleva's perky and frilly pink dress as she twirls around the Winter Games arena. It's a mortifying moment (and you can see everything), but she still goes on to finish out the routine.
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7rwAgMg09v8#!
3. OK, full disclosure on this one. The camera's positioned at the rear, so you get a pretty vivid butt shot. Poor thing. It's just … yikes!
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tQ6qOC9kjg
4. Ricky Berens is just so adorably handsome that his booty-ful blunder makes me love him even more. Spoiler alert: there's a whole lotta bum in this clip.
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrHX2vcbf7o
5. Court phenom Venus Williams caught her falling tennis-top before it caused a big scene. Close one, V!
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpPucUJfSuo
6. Here's what I would have been thinking if I were Jenifer Benitez during this suit mishap: "It's, like, back off guys and let me readjust my suit before I have to get up on that board and make Olympic history again, geeeez." It's only a little slip, but it's still on live TV.
Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_P9PkLspA8
Do you think these athletes should be embarrassed by their wardrobe hiccups? Or is it just a natural part of the Games?
Image via ImThatKindOfMan/YouTube
