Julia Marino pulls out of Olympics after Prada snowboard dispute

A US athlete has left the Winter Olympics and claimed safety has not been prioritised after a dispute over a specific aesthetic detail.

A US snowboarder has revealed details behind a dispute that led her to suddenly pull out of the women’s Snowboard Big Air event at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Early on in the Games, Julia Marino won the first medal for her country, claiming silver in the women’s slopestyle on a board with a red and white Prada logo.

Enter the problem: Prada is not an official International Olympic Committee sponsor.

During a practice round before the event, the athlete was reportedly told to tape over the Prada logo on her helmet but not her board.

It wasn’t until after the win, which led to the Prada board selling out within hours, that the IOC told Team USA the 24-year-old had to either paint over the logo or use another board because it was non compliant, according toFront Office Sports.

Julia Marino’s Prada snowboard, which she won silver on during the women's slopestyle, has been the centre of a dispute between Team USA and the International Olympic Committee. Picture: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Marino’s hopes of winning another medal were crushed. Picture: Tobias Schwarz / AFP

In a letter to IOC, obtained by the media company, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee argued that using the Prada board was the same as other competitors using Burton and Roxy snowboards.

According to reports, the IOC contended Prada’s Linea Rossa is not a legitimate sports brand.

“Finally, covering the logo is not a feasible option. The logo is molded to the board and altering it would cause drag and interrupt the surface intended to glide,” USOPC vice president Dean Nakamura wrote in the letter.

“For these reasons, we ask the IOC to reconsider its position and allow Julia Marino to use the board used during the Snowboard Slopestyle competition.”

That did not happen.

Marino apparently injured herself during practice because she was distracted by the controversy, and pulled out to prioritise her health. Picture: Ben Stansall / AFP

Taking to Instagram, where she labels herself a “Prada athlete”, Marino was critical of the IOC, claiming safety was not its priority.

Marino had two falls before the big air event; one apparently due to distraction from the controversy where she injured her tailbone and one after covering the Prada logo on her board as instructed.

“For everyone asking, the night before the big air, the IOC told me they no longer approved my board even (though) they approved it for slope … They told me I would be disqualified if I didn’t cover the logo and obligated me to literally draw on the base of my board with a sharpie,” Marino wrote in a post.

“Anyway I dropped into the jump to see how the tailbone felt after taking a slam the other day in practice and after my base being altered. I had no speed for the jump and wasn’t able to clear it several times. Was just feeling pretty physically and mentally drained from this distraction and the slam I took. I was super-hyped with how I did in slope, my main event, and decided not to risk further injury even (though) that didn’t appear to be the top priority of the IOC.”

The IOC has not yet publicly commented on the dispute.