Why does Lynn Williams wear one leg sleeve? How USWNT striker making waves with unique style at Olympics

David Suggs

•
Why does Lynn Williams wear one leg sleeve? How USWNT striker making waves with unique style at Olympics image

Fashion forward...

The U.S. women's national team is teeming with attacking talent at this year's Olympics, recording seven goals in their first two games — all of which came from their forward players.

Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman have garnered the most headlines at the start of USWNT's Olympic campaign, but they're not the only forwards on the team capable of finding the target more often than most.

Backup Lynn Williams has also shown a willingness to get into the box and fire shots toward the cage, too. Against Germany, she was rewarded for her endeavor, as Williams slotted past an outstretched Ann-Katrin Berger to put the finishing touches on the U.S.'s 4-1 beatdown.

MORE: USWNT impresses in emphatic win over Germany in Olympics

Those watching Williams know what to expect. The 31-year-old is a star at club level, recording the most goals in NWSL history as a member of NJ/NY Gotham FC.

Although her placement on the roster came as the result of injury misfortunes elsewhere, she's reminded the masses of onlookers about her class throughout USWNT's Olympic run.

For all of her goal-scoring prowess, there's another thing about Williams captivating onlookers across the country: her decision to sport a single leg sleeve.

DeCOURCY: High marks for Smith, Swanson, Rodman in rout of Germany

Most soccer players avoid such a unique fashion statement. After all, their socks are so high (unless you're Jack Grealish or Florian Wirtz, of course) that most don't want to cloak their finest instruments in bundles of cloth.

Williams is an exception, however, and much like two stars from an entirely different platform — WNBA talents A'ja Wilson and Angel Reese — Williams has made the single leg sleeve her signature as of late.

 Here's what we know about Williams' newest fashion choice, including the origins of it.

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Full Olympics schedule | How to watch in USA | Meet NBC's broadcasters

Why does Lynn Williams wear one leg sleeve?

The origins of Williams' leg sleeve are a bit murky. She hasn't rocked it for the whole of her career, opting to release her legs from sleeved captivity during last year's Women's World Cup. Even as recently as Gotham FC's May 19 duel against Chicago Red Stars, Williams was seen playing with nary a leg sleeve.

MORE: How Mallory Swanson overcame patella tendon tear to carry USWNT in Paris

Things changed ahead of the Olympic competition, however. The 66-time cap winner shrouded her right leg in color throughout USWNT's tune-up games, enticing the masses in the process.

Williams kept up the tradition even after arriving in Paris, donning black and red sleeves in her opening two appearances.

Against Germany, her choice paid off. Williams swept her late-game strike into the bottom corner with her left foot, not her right. Rocking that apple-red single legging certainly made the goal all that more memorable, however.

It's hard to gauge what led Williams to rock the single-sleeve legging during this year's Olympics. It's important to note that she missed the whole of the 2022 NWSL season after tearing her "hamstring tendon off the bone." Williams underwent surgery for the ailment, she revealed to People Magazine last year.

MORE: Mal Swanson was due for a global breakout, and the 2024 Olympics are calling

If the injury were to influence her decision to wear a leg sleeve, she wouldn't be the first player to take such a measure. Reese famously made a similar move after undergoing surgery during her freshman year of college. So too did former WNBA Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere, who found that wearing the single leg sleeve helped her recover from a minor knee issue she dealt with in college.

"It became a staple of my on-court style," Onyenwere said, per WNBA.com. Ever since my senior year of college, it feels unnatural to play without it.”

MORE: Canada women's soccer still alive at Olympics despite points deduction

The style has some precedence among Olympians, too. Who can forget the late American sprinter, Florence Griffith-Joyner, who consistently rocked the one-legged sleeve en route to three gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Games.

All of that is to say, there are a number of reasons why Williams could have opted to don the one-legged sleeve style during the Olympics. Given the returns it has yielded, including a goal and two blowout victories, don't expect her to switch it up any time soon.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.