Olympic rings tattoo: how a body art craze was born

Decorating flexed biceps, taut forearms and sweaty napes of the neck, the Olympic rings tattoo is a ubiquitous sight among the athletes who have competed in the world’s most prestigious sporting event. The symbolic ink has become almost an initiation rite for those who earn the title of Olympians and these days you see them everywhere around the Olympic village. But why do so many athletes have them and how did it first start?

It was American former competition swimmer and two-time Olympic champion, Christopher Jacobs, who is credited with starting the tattoo trend more than 30 years ago, after the 1988 Seoul Olympics. After noticing that a handful of Canadian swimmers had small tattoos of the Canadian flag on their chests, Jacobs said, his mind wandered to another iconic symbol: the Olympic rings. ”I do think it’s become a rite of passage,” said Jacobs, who now has three separate tattoos of the rings, told USA Today. ”It’s almost like a little card for a somewhat exclusive club.”

It’s maybe not surprising that it was a swimmer who started the trend – after all, while skateboarders have their decks and bobsledders their helmets, the only outlet these athletes have to show off their individuality is their bodies. But the trend quickly spread to other sports and now everyone from gymnast Simone Biles to sprinter and Dazed cover star Noah Lyles proudly wears the ink. “It’s like being a member of the Army Special Forces,” Mike Bruner, who won two gold medals at the 1976 Olympics and was a member of the team that boycotted the 1980 Games, told the New York Times in 2012.

The five rings of the Olympic Games represent the union of the five inhabited continents – Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania – and their interlinking shows the inclusiveness of Olympism and how athletes from all over the world come together for the Games. What followed was the creation of a legacy for competing athletes; an inked reminder of the exclusivity that comes with hard work and a lifetime of dedication. “I feel like the Olympic rings is the one tattoo that only we can get,” archer Brady Ellison said in an interview with the Washington Post.

The Olympic rings tattoo has become something younger athletes dream of, imaging placements of designs many years before they are even old enough to compete. Swimmer Stephanie Balduccini was just 16 when she competed in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. According to Brazilian regulations for minors, her parents needed to sign a parental consent form, have it notarised, and be present during her tattoo. “I had to sign a lot of terms to be able to do it, but I was very happy,” Balduccini told Olympics.com. “People look and say, ’Wow, you’re an Olympian!’” American swimmer and two-time Olympian Dana Vollmer also needed permission from her parents when she got the tattoo as a minor.

Look closely and the rings are everywhere, spotted above Speedo waistbands, on hands gripping curling stones, and on legs that pivot on gymnasium beams. Some choose large and bold designs that stand out amongst the crowd, while others prefer more understated options that can only be glimpsed while they compete. Now that the trend is so widespread, athletes are finding ways to personalise their tattoos, and make those five rings their own. Turkey’s Mert Kilavuz has one of the rings getting picked up by chopsticks, while teammate Berkay Öğretir transformed the rings on his left bicep into a bursting firework show. American shooter Mary Tucker incorporated her rings into a sleeve alongside French irises for the Paris Games, cherry blossoms for Tokyo, and Greek ferns as a nod to the origins of the Games.

Not everyone’s Olympic tattoos have been accepted, however. After the tradition spread to the athletes at the Paralympics, several para-athletes were asked by the organisers of the event to cover them during the competition by blacking them out with a sharpie. In 2016, British swimmer Josef Craig was disqualified from a race because his tattoo was said to violate the International Paralympic Committee rule stating “body advertisements are not allowed in any way whatsoever (this includes tattoos and symbols)”. The Olympic rings represent a competing trademark since, technically, Paralympians compete under a different banner, logo and for a different organisation.

Tattoos are not for everyone, and while some sport massive back pieces and colourful designs, other athletes opt not to get tatted at all, although it’s becoming an increasing few: in 2012, swimmer and 11-time Olympic medalist joked that she was “in the minority” as a non-inked Olympian. So as you watch the opening ceremony in Paris tomorrow, keep an eye out and see how many tattoos you can spot.