Why Are Team USA Athletes Showing Off Their Underwear In Anticipation Of Rio?

In anticipation of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the United States Olympic Committee is debuting an exclusive item: Team USA boxer briefs for men and briefs for women. Since sales of the briefs — which are proudly made in America — go towards helping support U.S. athletes, you’ll want to buy a few pairs!

And since we know that there is only so much underwear a person needs, we asked Team USA athletes — who just returned from competing at the Pan American Games in Toronto — to come up with a few other uses for the Team USA briefs. Oh, and buy your Team USA briefs today!

1) Use Them As A Swim Cap
Two-time Olympic slalom canoeist Casey Eichfeld doesn’t want to let go of the two gold medals he won at the Pan American Games — but he also doesn’t want to get his hair wet. Thanks to his Team USA briefs, his hair will stay dry even if the weight of his medals tips his canoe over.

2) Use Them When Potty Training Your Loved Ones
House training your dog is not easy. But it’s a whole lot easier than winning a gold medal at the Pan Ams — especially if you use your Team USA briefs like field hockey player Jackie Briggs does on her dog, London.

3) Use Them As A Slingshot

Pan American softball silver medalist Sierra Romero always has her eyes on the prize, but if you don’t want to use them for target practice — she thinks they’d also be good for stretching out your forearms before a game.

4) Use Them To Protect Your Sports Equipment

Pan American water ski gold medalist Regina Jaquess shows you how the briefs are great for protecting those items you deem most valuable, like her beloved water skis.

And the members of the women’s eight world championships team use them to pad their oars.

5) Use Them To Help Identify Your Bag

Olympic sprinter and Pan Am gold medalist Wallace Spearmon has a busy school schedule — in addition to training full-time. So he doesn’t have time to waste finding his bag in a sea of blue backpacks. But when he hangs his Team USA briefs from the top, he has no problem knowing which one is his.

6) Use Them As A Flag

Pan American softball silver medalist Kelsey Stewart loves cheering her teammates on, but when they are in the bottom of the seventh and in need of some good rally mojo, there is nothing like her Team USA briefs flag to get everyone excited.

7) Wear Them As A Hat

Olympic and Pan American boxing medalist Marlen Esparza uses them to protect her head from the sun while vacationing with her family in Cabo San Lucas — but they could also substitute as bathing suit bottoms to match the rest of her red, white and blue ensemble.