GK Elite was started about 45 years ago by Sallie Weaver, who took advantage of a gap in the market: Gymnasts at the time tended to wear dance leotards because specialized clothing wasn’t available.

"Leotards in the '70s and '80s were actually driven by dance because of movies like Flashdance," says Amy Hess, a designer with Alpha Factor, one of the biggest leotard and gymnastics apparel ...

While competing, she wore custom leotards decorated with silver rhinestones in the shape of a goat head, a reference to the athlete being dubbed by many as "the G.O.A.T.," aka "the greatest of all ...