Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

Why Do Runners Still Race With Paper Pinned to Their Shirts?

Racing bibs have tags that help track and identify runners. But they are also a good place for sponsors’ names.

Bibs, and four safety pins, are ubiquitous at track meets everywhere. Even at the Olympics.Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Trayvon Bromell had a problem. There was a stadium of fans awaiting him and he wasn’t ready to race. He needed a few safety pins.

“All I wanted to be thinking about is the race,” he recalled of the 2021 U.S. Olympic track and field trials.