Olympics-Gymnastics-'Barbie dreamhouse' vibes calm gymnasts at Paris arena

By Karen Braun

PARIS (Reuters) - An Olympic competition stage is already stressful enough for even the most seasoned gymnast but the pleasing, pastel palette at Paris's Bercy Arena has proved a soothing setting for many of the athletes.

The apparatus podiums in the Olympic gymnastics venue are draped in teal and blue geometric designs with a light pink trim.

"It's gorgeous, everybody is calling it the Barbie Dreamhouse," U.S.-born gymnast Luisa Blanco, who is representing Colombia, told Reuters.

The playful colour scheme carries on to the individual pieces of apparatus, most notably with the green accents on the vault table as well as the ombre green legs of the balance beam and pommel horse.

"Everyone says it almost looks like toy equipment because it's such a light pastel colour," Samantha Peszek, a 2008 U.S. team silver medallist who is now an NBC broadcaster, told Reuters.

The look of the 2024 Games is meant to exude Parisian style and elegance, according to Paris's official city website. The designs were inspired by the Art Deco movement popular in 1924, when Paris last hosted the Olympics.

"When I first walked in the gym, I saw the green pommel horse," said first-time Olympian Frederick Richard, who helped to lift the U.S. to a bronze medal in the team event on Monday.

"There was something about it; I said 'wow, I like this pommel horse a lot'. I'm comfortable on it."

The tasteful but muted aesthetic was a deliberate move by the design team to put the spotlight on athletes and their performances, and the gymnasts are clearly appreciative.

"The colour scheme is kind of calming," said U.S. coach Jess Graba. "The girls were talking about it, this is kind of calm in here as opposed to too intense."

A loud, busy display of hues inside an arena can be a dangerous distraction to gymnasts performing high-flying moves.

"It's nice to look at because there aren't harsh colours that if you're flipping mid-air its like, oh my gosh it's red!" Blanco said of the Paris arena.

Three-time Olympian Shallon Olsen of Canada told Reuters that the 2024 set-up was pretty and very different from past Games, and Romania's Amalia Ghigoarta agreed that the unique appearance was inspiring.

"I think it looks better than white-and-red like it normally is," Ghigoarta, participating in her first Games, told Reuters.

"It goes so well with Paris, and the Olympics."

(Additional reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, Rory Carroll and Chang-Ran Kim; editing by Clare Fallon)