FASHION Magazine

Interviews by Jacquelyn Francis and Jessica Flower

Get all the Olympic gossip »

Maybe this is just us, but when watching the Olympics our minds tend to wander. Can athletes wear anything underneath the tight spandex? How do figure skaters get all that heavy-duty makeup off? And what happens if you get your period the day you’re competing?

In anticipation of the 2014 Winter Games at Sochi, we sat down with some of our favourite female Olympians, both current and former, and got the inside scoop on everything they don’t normally get to share. From whether or not sex before the big day helps you win to what country produces the hottest athletes (yeah, we went there!) they were more than happy to get personal. Read on for all the answers to our awkward questions, and consider memorizing a few: They’ll make for excellent conversation starters over the next few weeks of Olympic excitement.

Canadian fan favourite Clara Hughes used grit to secure six Olympic medals (in speed skating and cycling) throughout her career, but what about her auburn hair? Why, that came directly from her grandmother. While Hughes swears by Kérastase hair products (“I have great hair but without good products, my hair is not so great!”), she’s not above flying Calgary stylist Brianna Hallet of SwizzleSticks Salon out to do an emergency touch-up for a speaking engagement in, say, Vancouver. Devotion indeed. We asked Hallet what it takes to do Olympic-style hair.

As Canada’s athletes gear up for the London 2012 Olympic Games, we speak with a veteran and a newcomer—six-time medallist Clara Hughes and first-time Olympian boxer Mary Spencer—about preparation, pressure and product.