Kaetlyn Osmond is a decorated Canadian figure skater, a two-time World Champion and a three-time Olympic medalist who competed in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018. She joins Yahoo Canada as a guest contributor for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
We’ve all seen the unboxings—the endless gear, perfectly coordinated team wear, bright red and maroon sweaters and maple-leaf branded vests. But do you actually know how athlete’s Olympic team wear works?
There’s more structure, more waiting, and more rules than most people realize.
You don’t get everything right away
Qualifying for the Olympics doesn’t mean you immediately receive all the gear. When you’re officially named to the team, you’re given what’s often called announcement gear—usually a sweater, sometimes pants. When I made the Olympic team in both 2014 and 2018, a sweater was all I received at first. With the newer Lululemon kits, there might be a bit more now, but it’s still minimal—just enough to mark the moment.
The real kit—the big one—comes later.
When you arrive at the Games, you’re given the full team wardrobe. I still remember landing in Russia for my first Olympics. We were shuttled to a house the Canadian team had rented just outside the village, and that’s where it happened: a suitcase packed to the brim with clothes, shoes, boots, jackets—everything.
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Most of it fit, because sizing information had been collected months earlier at a pre-Olympic camp. If something didn’t work, you could request an exchange, but there were no guarantees. Once you were there, options were limited.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
More goodies await in the Olympic Village
A moose statue gets snowed on outside Team Canada’s accomodation at the Olympic Village ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 3, 2026. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP via Getty Images)
(ODD ANDERSEN via Getty Images)
When you finally check into your Olympic Village room, there’s more waiting. Samsung is a sponsor, so you receive a phone and SIM card. There are also smaller host-country souvenirs—pins, gloves, toques—and a participation medallion.
It’s exciting. It’s overwhelming. And then come the rules.
Yes—there are rules every athlete has to follow
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 26: Team Canada x lululemon Athlete Kit Reveal on October 26, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The reveal included official gear to be worn at the Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony, on the podium, for media interviews, and around the village at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images for lululemon)
(Vaughn Ridley via Getty Images)
As a Canadian athlete, we were given a lookbook outlining exactly when certain pieces could be worn and when others were off-limits.
The most closely guarded outfits are for the opening ceremony. Those looks stay under wraps until you walk into the stadium, and when you do, everything has to be worn exactly as styled—shoes, pants, jacket, accessories, all of it. Once the ceremony is over, though, the restrictions lift and you’re free to wear those pieces however you want.
There are only two other outfits of importance at the Games—the podium and the Closing Ceremony. Both follow the same rules as the Opening Ceremony: athletes must wear the full look, including the shoes, jacket, pants, and accessories. The only added freedom is that these outfits don’t need to be kept under lock and key and can be worn whenever you like.
The one rule that always applies
Bronze medalist in the women’s free figure skating Kaetlyn Osmond, of Canada, poses during the medals ceremony at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Beyond those big moments, there’s one consistent expectation: you have to wear the team clothing.
For Canadian athletes, that usually meant at least one visible piece of Olympic gear at all times. Other logos weren’t allowed—my only exception was when I was on practice ice. As a figure skater, we don’t receive team skating apparel the way speed skaters do, so training gear followed different rules.
And if you didn’t love a particular piece? Too bad. It’s the Olympics. The clothing is free. You get what you get.
That said, most of the time it doesn’t matter. Wearing Olympic team gear feels special—because it is.
The best part of the Olympic gear
You keep everything.
Every single item you receive at the Olympics is yours to take home. Shoes, jackets, accessories, phones, bed comforter—everything. Which is great… until you try to fly home with it all.
Trust me: packing for the return trip is an Olympic event of its own.
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