When the Olympics start in Beijing in August, there is one thing every athlete there will have in common, reports CNBC's Mike Hegedus. Click "Read More" below to watch the clip from this CNBC new feature showing how WIN is tackling the smelly problem of lingering sweat odor in sports gear.

Athletes have embraced the moisture-wicking properties of synthetic T-shirts and other workout wear. But many athletes -- and those who love them -- often discover an unpleasant feature of these microfiber garments: They smell bad.

Sales of synthetic "base layers," as retailers call long underwear these days, have helped pump up sales of athletic apparel 11% to an estimated $15.2 billion in 2007, far outpacing growth of apparel overall, according to market-research company NPD Group. But few can deny that these garments, in action, are like Petri dishes, incubating odor-causing bacteria. And they often hold on to the bacteria through a wash cycle, leaving some of it to bloom again, when the next workout begins.