Olympic water polo swimming suits?

I wondered this myself! I found out the answer from a lady I was visiting with at my most recent visit to the nail salon while womens water polo was on the TV. Her sister played water polo. Her explanation was that the legged suits the swimmers wear are too constricting for the lateral leg movements the water polo players have to make. The suits they wear are not actually thongs but hi-cut one-piece suits designed for maximum movement. The reason their swimsuits ride up their backsides is because they are intentionally worn 2-3 sizes too small. The idea is to have the suit tight against the body so the opposite teams players can't grab ahold of the suit and produce those now-famous underwater exposure mishaps you see on TV. Apparently water polo is more violent than most people realize and teams will intentionally claw and grab at the opposite teams suits. Some players also wear their nails longer or wear acrylic nails to intensify this effect. If you've noticed, there have been quite a few nasty injuries in the pool.

So, those major wedgies you see are from the suits being too small and with the tighter fit causes the backs to ride up. You hardly ever see them trying to pull their suits out because they'd just go right back up there anyway. They just leave them there. And no, it certainly can't be comfortable but they don't seem to mind.

Polo Suits

Water Polo Suits