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The Gear Olympic Athletes Are Wearing In Sochi Have Some Incredible Designs [Photos]

By Michael Thrasher | Feb 12, 2014 11:24 AM EST

The gear adorned by the athletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics is way cooler than anything you've worn.

Designs on helmets and apparel are seemingly much more artistic that in Olympics past. Some are pretty radical but only one athlete has been required to alter a design.

Team USA women's hockey goalie, Jessie Vetter, was required to change the back of her mask which had part of the U.S. Constitution on it. The back of the mask read "We the People" and the International Olympic Committee, citing regulation, required the 28-year-old goalie to remove an inscription.

The mask's artist, Ron Slater, told FoxNews.com that he believes the IOC sees it as "propaganda." Slater also paints custom masks for NHL players, according to Fox News.

He was amused that the IOC did not permit the "We the People" design he and Vetter created, but allowed the Statue of Liberty and a bald eagle. Slater told Fox News those images are "figures scream America."

Vetter was also required to remove a depiction of the Olympic rings and a Wisconsin Badgers logo, a nod to the University of Wisconsin, her alma mater.

Outside of Vetter's struggle for a design approval, the artwork on gear at the Olympics has been nothing but enjoyable.

Below are some photos from Reuters.

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