Olympic Athletes

I am really excited about the Olympics. I've been watching trials in track and swimming. I've even written about them a few times. One of those was talking about athletes who have been called fat, even though they have little to no body fat. Yesterday, I read about some female Olympians who have BMIs that make them obese. Because of that, they're not really appealing to sponsors. They also compete in weightlifting, which doesn't really get the media exposure of swimming, gymnastics or track. This means that instead of making buckets of money like Michael Phelps, they're living week to week.

This is Sarah Robles who has a motto of "Pretty Strong" and "Beauty is Strength" I admire her strength. She can lift almost 300 pounds. She also weighs about 300 pounds. That does not mean she's not an athlete. In fact, she is not alone in being an Olympic Athlete who is a woman around 300 pounds. I've written about another American Olympic Weightlifter in the past. Here's a clearer picture of Olympic Bronze Medalist Cheryl Haworth and one of a male athlete of similar proportions:

Both have similar body fat percentages and weights. We have been conditioned to accept his body as one of an athlete, but not hers. The standards for men are clearly shown to us for our entire lives. TV shows have reinforced it for generations. From "The Honeymooners" to "King of Queens" the hot wife and overweight husband dynamic has been shown to all of us. I'm not saying that overweight men should only date overweight women. I just think these shows, and others like them, set up unrealistic expectations for women, and possibly unhealthy ones for men. (Jackie Gleason was hardly athletic; he sat all day long as a bus driver.)

I hope that these weightlifting women can get recognition for their athleticism, despite not fitting into a size 4. I know that they have inspired me to lift heavier weights more often and to watch weightlifting in addition to running.

Olympic Athletes: Fat?

What do you see when you look at the above photo? I see an Olympic swimmer from the UK. Her name is Rebecca Adlington and she's a two-time gold medalist. Unfortunately, she's a woman, so many people see her as merely an object of beauty, or lack of beauty, and not as an athlete. Because of the people who can't get past the fact that she is famous for something other than her appearance, she will be eschewing social media until after the Olympics.

What do you see when you look at this photo? You may be tempted to say an athlete from the UK named Ennis. I would agree with you. She's Jessica Ennis who is a world champion heptathlete and pentathlete. Sadly, a high-ranking UK Athletics chief said she was "fat and she's got too much weight." Her coach is much more realistic than that chief and has never had an issue with her weight or shape.

This last picture is Louise Hazel another heptathlete who was also criticized for her weight. She's 5'6" and 123 pounds. It appears that is mostly muscle.

I know that criticizing Olympic athletes for their weight or appearance is a sign of ignorance, skewed expectations and possibly jealousy. I wish I could muster some pity for the people making these criticisms, but all I can come up with is anger and disgust. I also wonder if they could compete with these women in any athletic venue or if they're out of shape and are being horribly hypocritical.

Athlete Artist

I love this photo. I love how the "artist" is just as muscular as the "athlete"

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Athlete

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It's also not bound by weight or experience. Anyone can become an athlete. All it takes is desire.

Stronger

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When we're kids, we can do anything and everything. All kids are artists. It's only as we get older that some people take themselves out of the artist box. Mainly because at some point it was decided that they weren't good or talented enough to remain in the group of artists. The same thing happens with fitness and athletics.

All kids are athletes. They run around and play tag, ride their bikes, jump rope and do things that if an adult did them would qualify as exercise. When we're kids, it's just play, but at some point it becomes competitive and only the skilled kids continue on. We have to overcome those thoughts and categories as adults and realize that we are all capable of being athletes.

All we have to do is go out there and do it. Lace up your shoes and go for a run. Grab a football and go throw it around with some friends. Buy a jump rope and take that for a spin. You can be an athlete again, you just have to believe that it's possible.

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