Is anyone else feeling slightly disturbed about the headlines regarding Leisel Jones? This is one of our own, who sure, had a couple of unflattering pictures taken (who hasn’t!), and we think we have the right to now question her ability as an athlete. Wait, not just an athlete, a four time Olympian.
As a physical activity practitioner I am a huge advocate for being healthy but I also know that being healthy doesn’t necessarily mean that we look like models.
I shook my head in disbelief this morning when I read those headlines and was thankful that not one of my 3 girls (all under 5) are old enough to read. What sort of example are we setting for our youth of today if we are this harsh on our Olympians? How much more pressure do we need to put on Leisel before she competes on Saturday?
With recent research around the country reflecting the lack of motor ability in our youth, surely we have an obligation to support our athletes? Aren’t these athletes the very people who we hope form part of the village to inspire the youth of today to continue to engage in physical activity and dream of, maybe one day, also having the honour of wearing the green and gold?
Leisel has earned the right to represent the country at the Olympics so she must be in some sort of shape to compete, right? If one positive thing has come out of today’s headlines it’s the camaraderie amongst the fellow athletes who have come out in support one of their own.
Who are we to judge whether someone’s physical appearance warrants him or her a ticket to London? Let their performance do that. Let the Games begin, I say!
Mat Hardy
Lecturer in Middle East Studies at Deakin University
Isn't it really also an indication of the need to fill web pages? We've got all these hundreds of journalists all in the starting blocks with nothing really interesting to write about yet. So they just beat up a nothing story and then each of them writes a story about the reaction to the nothing story and then a story about the retraction of the reaction to the nothing story and then a reaction to the retraction.....
If only these journalists would look as critically at the flab in their own writing.
Rebecca Braham
Assistant Professor in Exercise, Health and Sport Psychology at University of Western Australia
Thanks for your comments Mat - you have said it better than I did! Unfortunately I too have become one of the people who are writing about what really is a nothing story. I just hope that most people see the original story the same way you have, as a page filler, and not an indication of someones athletic ability. Enjoy the Games!
Mat Hardy
Lecturer in Middle East Studies at Deakin University
This morning's SCANDAL!!!! (tm) was that the British Olympic Committee had stumped up to put air con units in their athletes' apartments but AUSSIE athletes had none! Channel 9 was out desperately vox popping Australian competitors trying to get them to have a dummy spit, but they were all like *shrug* "It's not that hot anyway. We can just open the windows."
Simon Outram
Postdoctoral Research - Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL) at Victoria University
I completely agree with the above commentary. I was particularly concerned when I saw the television news led this story with an image that appeared to be inviting the audience to judge the appearance of the athlete. I am not convinced this would happen to a male athlete.
I hope – in my naiveté - the reaction of her colleagues will put an end to such reporting and we can get back to enjoying sport as a contest, not an extension of the hugely sociologically and physiologically damaging obsession with model-like appearance.
Rebecca Braham
Assistant Professor in Exercise, Health and Sport Psychology at University of Western Australia
Thanks for your comment Simon. I must say, I am really pleased that you said out loud what I was thinking about this probably not making news if it had been a male athlete. I am with you - lets start to focus on the competition which starts in 2 sleeps! Enjoy.
Mat Hardy
Lecturer in Middle East Studies at Deakin University
Mind you, Thorpie copped a bagging when he tried to come back without his old six pack.