Lioness Chloe Kelly didn't anticipate her "big” sports bra moment at the Women's Euro 2022 final.
Chloe Kelly had no idea how ‘big’ her sports bra moment would go after she took off her top to celebrate scoring the Lionesses’ winning goal against Germany in the Women’s Euro 2022
The 24-year-old England player took off her top to celebrate scoring the Lionesses’ winning goal against Germany in the UEFA Women’s Euro final at Wembley Stadium last month.
And she has since done fashion shoots and been dressed in Stella McCartney and Nike – with sales of sports bras going through the roof.
She told Grazia: “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I’m on top of the world, but honestly, I’m still processing how much has changed for us and for women’s football. It’s so great to see how we’ve inspired the nation."
Of the "wild" bra moment, she said: “It was just a celebration that I did in the moment.
“I didn’t even think about it, and I didn’t think how big it would go, and how big it’s gone. It was just a moment and I wanted to celebrate as wild as possible.”
Chloe tore off her number 18 shirt to reveal her Nike sports bra underneath as she spun her England shirt overhead, in an apparent nod to USA player Brandi Chastain who whipped off her shirt after scoring the winning penalty in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final against China.
Since the final whistle, searches for ‘football sports bra’ have skyrocketed to over 1,590%.
It has also emerged experts helped the Lionesses roar to Euro 2022 victory by giving them personalised bra “prescriptions”.
The detailed instructions were drawn up after one-on-one assessment sessions with Chloe and her teammates to give them the most comforting fits for match play and ensure they all got maximum support for their chest sizes.
Professor Joanna Wakefield-Scurr from the University of Portsmouth, who led the project, suggested it helped the team’s final 2–1 victory over Germany, stating: “Evidence suggests sports bras have performance benefits, comfort benefits and health benefits – so I would say they're just as important for exercising females as trainers.
“We looked at their bra needs, and any issues they'd been experiencing with sports bras, and then we prescribed for them – including the sports bra that we saw Chloe displaying to everybody.
“They were off-the-shelf bras, but we found the players really appreciated information on how to fit them, what styles would work for them best.
“There are some really good products out there that can work for elite athletes, but it's about helping them navigate through the marketplace.”
Dr Pippa Bennett, acting director of Medical Services at the English Institute of Sport and FA medical lead for the Women’s Professional Game, said: "While the EIS has not worked directly with the Lionesses, it is great to see that the FA has – like the EIS – prioritised work on female athlete health, including bra fitting.”
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