GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - Two Turkish Olympic ice dancers are under no pressure from their government to tone down their costumes as they compete in a sport that often features revealing attire, they said on Tuesday.
Skating a day after French ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis suffered a wardrobe malfunction in her short dance programme which left her briefly exposed, the Turkish team were impressed by her silver medal performance.
"We feel so sorry really," Alisa Agafonova, who designs the outfits for her and partner Alper Ucar herself, told Reuters.
Ukrainian-born Agafonova does not feel the need to make their clothing any more conservative because they represent a Muslim nation at the Games.
"We are an open country and there is no problem for me to do. I am wearing what I like," she said.
The Turkish Olympic committee did not give any specific directions about their costumes.
"Turkey is a country where one side is Europe and the other side is the Middle East," Ucar said.
"We are a multicultural country and our traditional designs for our costumes are generally very liked by the crowd. We are a democratic country, so there is no pressure," he added.
"They are always supporting us and that's why we are here."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Ed Osmond)
