2004 Adidas Atenus Weightlifting Suit
This suit is just really slick looking, why can’t Adidas make stuff like this today? Anyhow, the black panels on the legs of the suit are reinforced to handle the knurl of the barbell – the upper chest portion, however, is *not* made of the same material. It is plenty durable, as-is, but this suit would have been greatly improved with reinforced paneling at the top, as well. The center knurl of a competition barbell will, eventually, render this suit useless.
The Atenus is my favorite suit from a nostalgia standpoint; this was released prior to – and specifically for – the Athens Olympics in 2004. I saw these when I was younger, but never snagged one when I had the ability to do so. A few months back, the opportunity presented itself to buy one, and I did – immediately! It fits identically to my Adidas base suit/singlet from back in that era of the early 2000’s.
Some modifications needed to be made, though; I’ve changed a bit, though, since that time. My shoulders are a hair broader, legs are thicker, and I weigh nearly 30lbs/14kg more at competition weight, than I did back then. I couldn’t squeeze myself in through the neck hole, so I took it to a seamstress/tailor down the road and she had a full length back zipper sewn in for me. Now, it’s functional and will be durable enough to last me many more meets.
