These Olympic Beach Volleyball Photos Prove That Sports Are For Everyone

Images from the Egypt-Germany game also send a message of global solidarity.
Egypt's Doaa Elghobashy, left, and Germany's Laura Ludwig, right. Two great athletes, two very different beach volleyball outfits.
Egypt's Doaa Elghobashy, left, and Germany's Laura Ludwig, right. Two great athletes, two very different beach volleyball outfits.
YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images

It’s safe to say that most of us associate beach volleyball with skimpy outfits. But Olympians from Egypt are challenging that norm, showing that religious customs don’t have to be a hindrance to competing at an Olympic level.

Photos from the Egypt-Germany women’s beach volleyball game in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday paint a picture of two drastically different cultures ― one team wearing two-piece swimsuits and another revealing very little ― but attest to the way sports bring people together and promote acceptance.

In a tweet Monday showing a photo of Egypt’s Doaa Elghobashy and Germany’s Kira Walkenhorst, author Ian Bremmer summed it up aptly:

Check out more photos of the game below, which Germany won 2-0.

Ruben Sprich / Reuters
Doaa Elghobashy, from Egypt, throws up her hands.
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Elghobashy and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany face off.
Ruben Sprich / Reuters
Walkenhorst faces the Egyptian team.
Ruben Sprich / Reuters
Elghobashy and teammate Nada Meawad.
YASUYOSHI CHIBA via Getty Images
Germany's Laura Ludwig vies with Elghobashy.
Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
A mid-game hug.

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