Under Armour’s Olympic woes

Did Under Armour leave U.S. speedskaters “in the cold”? asked Joshua Robinson and Sara Germano in The Wall Street Journal. The sportswear firm’s stock fell last week after insiders blamed its high-tech skin suits for the U.S. speedskating team’s poor performance at the Sochi Olympics. The so-called Mach 39 suits “were designed to be the fastest in all of speed-skating, a feat of aerodynamics developed with the help of a defense contractor.” But after an initial streak of poor results, the “American athletes began fretting” about having adopted a suit “with a possible design flaw.” While Under Armour has defended the Mach 39, “the controversy hit the company where it hurt most—its credibility in high-quality athletic apparel—exactly when it needed to shine on the world stage.”