Women's Beach Volleyball Match Highlights Different Cultures At Rio

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The Olympics sees athletes from around the world competing against each other, with athletes coming from a variety of cultures and religions.

Beach volleyball is well-known for its revealing attire - with a uniform of bikinis for women and board shorts for men. However, competitors who practice religions such as Islam, which require women to cover up, have chosen to adopt different attire.

The stark difference in cultures and choice of attire was apparent in Germany and Egypt women's recent beach volleyball match at the Rio Olympics, and shows how the beliefs on dress are not homogeneous across the globe.

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An outfit consisting of longer sleeves and trousers was worn by Nada Meawad and Doaa Elghobashy, who also covered her head with a hijab, which contrasted with their German rivals Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst, who stuck to the sport's standard two-piece outfit for last night's clash.

The International Volleyball Federation formerly regulated the size of uniforms, but they were changed heading into the London 2012 Olympics to allow full sleeves and leggings.

FIVB spokesman Richard Baker said on Sunday night that the move was made to open up the game culturally. Since the changes were made, Baker said there were 169 countries involved in the Continental Cup qualifying process for Rio 2016, compared to 143 for London four years earlier.

Elghobashy told reporters after the match: "I have worn the hijab for 10 years. It doesn't keep me away from the things I love to do, and beach volleyball is one of them.

"I'm proud to be seen raising the Egyptian flag in a carnival with so many nations."

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In the contest itself, Ludwig and Walkenhorst continued their Rio 2016 winning streak by securing a victory over their Egyptian counterparts, with the Germans coming out 2-0 sets winners in the match.

The Egyptians were playing in their first international event together outside of the African continent, where they had won a title in April.

And it's good to see such a mix of people, religions and cultures being represented at what is the premier global sporting event.

Words by James Dawson

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Topics: rio, olympics, egypt, Germany, rio 2016

James Dawson

James Dawson is a Journalist at LADbible. He has contributed articles to LADbible’s ‘Knowing Me, Knowing EU’ series on the EU referendum, the 'Electoral Dysfunction' series on the 2017 general election, the ‘U OK M8?’ series tackling mental health amongst young men, and for its ‘Climate Change’ initiative in partnership with National Geographic.

@thejaytoday