Running 30 miles each week, Lisa Lindahl found no garments that could adequately support a woman’s breasts during athletic activities. She made a list of qualities an athletic bra should have, including stable straps, no chafing from seams or clasps, breathable fabric and enough compression to prevent excessive movement. Lindahl asked her childhood friend, Smith, to help develop her idea. After several prototypes, Smith sewed two jockstraps together and Lindahl tested it on a run. This became the first workable sports bra prototype.
Patented in 1979, the athletic brassiere was commercialized as the Jogbra, featuring a seamless, compressing front panel, non-chafing exterior seams, crossing elastic straps and a wide elastic rib band for support. Lisa Lindahl will become one of the newest Inductees at the 48thAnnual NIHF Induction Ceremony.
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