All hail the mighty scrunchie! Whether worn in your middle school picture or ironically for a '90s throwback party, there's no denying its power, and the Olympic Games every few years only drive that point home. The scrunchie is a popular among the gymnastic and figure skating circles in particular, and with good reason—aside from keeping hair out of the way, it's easy to coordinate with both leotards and glitter-flecked skating costumes alike. We took a retrospective look at Olympic ceremonies of years past and rounded up the most-memorable scrunchies from 1976 to today. Scroll down to see the greatest scrunchie moments from the Olympic Games, spanning a timeline of almost 30 years.
Debbie Wilcox, 1976
The very first scrunchie sighting at the Olympics was back in 1976, when U.S. gymnast Debbie Wilcox wore a massive white version to the Montreal event.
Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992
At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Yamaguchi complemented her metallic ensemble with a gold ribbon scrunchie.
Dominique Dawes, 1992
U.S. gymnast Dominique Dawes donned a white scrunchie just before taking the balance beam.
Nancy Kerrigan, 1992
All white everything! A white scrunchie was the final element in Kerrigan's crisp, jewel-adorned skating uniform.
Nancy Kerrigan, 1994
At the '94 Games, Kerrigan complemented another all-white getup with a matching scrunchie.
Shannon Miller, 1996
Though U.S. gymnast Shannon Miller wasn't pleased with her first vault, her white ruffled scrunchie was a total win.
Dominique Dawes, 1996
Dawes mirrored the effect of her red, star-spangled leotard with a coordinating scrunchie.
Shannon Miller, 1996
Miller's oversized white scrunchie makes a second appearance at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Tara Lipinski, 1998
In true 1998 fashion, Tara Lipinski matched her blue skating outfit to a sparkly blue scrunchie at the Nagano Olympics.
Jie Ling, 2000
Most decorated scrunchie ever? Chinese gymnast Jie Ling rocked a feathered accessory while competing at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Annia Hatch, 2004
A bold red scrunchie (and some well-placed blue eyeshadow) topped off Hatch's patriotic getup.
Viktoria Pavuk, 2006
A muted orange scrunchie kept Hungarian skater Viktoria Pavuk's ponytail anchored, spin after spin.
Yang Yilin, 2008
A set of star-shaped hair clips and glitter hair gel complemented Yilin's bold red scrunchie.
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, 2008
It's a coup d'scrunchie! While Liukin opted to continue the hot pink color scheme into her updo, her teammate Johnson went for a thinner gold scrunchie.
Gabby Douglas, 2012
Douglas swept her layers back using a metallic purple scrunchie at the 2012 games in London.
McKayla Maroney, 2012
What's more memorable: Maroney's signature smirk, or her large white scrunchie? We'd say it's about even.
Elizaveta Ukolova, 2014
Scrunchies seemed to take a hiatus at the Sochi Olympics back in 2014—save for the updo worn by Czech Republic skater Elizaveta Ukolova, who contrasted her navy getup with a red accessory.
