Fina, the sport’s world governing body, has approved a swimming cap designed for athletes with natural black hair, a year after it was banned from the Olympic Games.
The international Swimming federation’s decision in June last year to bar the Soul Cap from use at the Tokyo Games – a decision based in part on the cap “not following the natural form of the head” and the governing body stating that “athletes competing at the international events never used, neither require … caps of such size and configuration” – prompted outrage, with the federation apologising and promising a review of the decision.
