Sample of red, white and blue cotton JogBra with a United States flag design made for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. This was manufactured by Champion, Authentic JogBra Sports Support Apparel. Tag attached to the bra. Champion Jogbra sponsored the Women’s Volleyball Team.
Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Palmer Smith, made their prototype of the jogbra from a pair of men's jock straps in the Costume Department at the University of Vermont. Lindahl started the company Jogbra, Inc. in 1977 and then re-named it SLS, Inc. (for Smith, Lindahl, Schreiber) in early 1978. The name changed again to Jogbra Inc., for a brief time, before finally becoming JBI, Inc. in the early 1980s. JBI, Inc. was bought by Playtex Apparel, Inc. in 1990. Playtex Apparel was sold to the Sara Lee Corporation in 1991. Lindahl, Miller, and Smith received US Patent 4,174,717 for an athletic brassiere on November 20, 1979. The Jogbra was the first example of the garments now known generally as sports bras, an industry that has grown in direct proportion to the increased participation of women in athletics generally since 1977. Lisa Lindahl originally wanted to solve the problem of having sore breasts after running, resulting in the invention of the jog bra which has evolved into the sports bra as we know it today.
The 1996 Summer Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, Georgia and marked the first time since 1984 that the United States topped the medal count. These Games saw over 10,000 athletes, from 197 countries, competing in 26 sports, including the debuts of beach volleyball, mountain biking, softball and women’s soccer. This was also the first Games in which American women, who had taken full advantage of Title IX legislation, competed and excelled in Olympic competition. The women’s gymnastics, soccer, softball and basketball teams all won gold, propelling the US women athletes into the global spotlight and beginning their dominance in Olympic competition. Atlanta benefitted from the Games as Centennial Olympic Park led to the revitalization of the downtown area and the Olympic Village became residence housing for area universities.
