The Weight of It All

With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London right around the corner, athletes are increasingly being scrutinized and judged based on their ability to perform in this 2 week event that occurs once every four years.  As if athletes didn't feel the enough pressure from trying to win a medal for their country in front of billions of viewers worldwide, an opportunity that they may only have once despite a lifetime of training, they are increasingly feeling pressured to look a certain way while doing it.  More and more articles have discussed the weight and size of various female athletes, stating some athletes are too fat, too muscular, or too big.

As public figures, athletes are subject to this kind of scrutiny, but is it really warranted?  Take for example the case of Jessica Ennis, the British phenom Heptathlete who is expected to win gold in London.  She may not be a size 2 model, but anyone who follows track and field can see that Ennis is clearly on the top of her game regardless of her weight or size.  She was recently criticized by a British official as being "too fat" but recent performance in Austria (where she broke the British Heptathlon record), proves that size doesn't matter.  Did I mention that Ennis is gorgeous; powerful, fit, and compact, the perfect combination for an elite female athlete?  Read more about Ennis and body image in British sport in this article by Annabel Croft, a former elite British tennis player: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9291962/Olympic-athletes-These-women-are-in-perfect-condition-so-why-call-them-fat.html

Shawn Johnson also recently came out and spoke about her body image issues growing up in the sport of gymnastics.  The dynamo of the 2008 Olympic Gold medal team, recently spoke out about her pressures to be thin and her struggles with body image.  See the following articles:  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/gymnastics/story/2012-05-14/shawn-johnson-loses-weight-speaks-out-body-image/54959326/1
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/shawn-johnson-lost-25-pounds-hurtful-fat-talk-211635709.html

Body image is an inevitable discussion when it comes to female athletes.  Athletes are put under pressure to look a certain way while performing at the highest level.  What most people don't realize is that the requirements of various sports necessitate variety in body types.  What looks great for a track athlete or gymnast, might not work for a bobsledder or a weightlifter for example.  In the 75+ kg weight class for women in weightlifting, the women are large and in-charge and can sure move a ton of weight (much more than the critiques of the bodies of female athletes).  In bobsled, although we try to maximize our weight to weight to power ratio, we have to weigh between 165-180lbs for our sport (weight flies down the track), which is far from a size 2 model.

So when is society going to stop calling female athletes fat and start looking at the amazing feats they are able to accomplish using their bodies, regardless of size?  After all, both the smallest and the largest of us all have the opportunity to win medals, which makes the Olympics that much more beautiful.