Olympic Coverage & Female Athletes
Anyone who has spent some time at Arena Ready knows that we have some pretty badass women in our community - strong, fast, fit, successful, intelligent, you name it. They're everywhere! They're also annoyingly humble and do a fairly poor job (IMMO in my man opinion, or "manpinion" if you will) of pointing out said badassery & legit status to others. So while I would love to take full credit for every example of their impressive fitness achievements, and then mansplain their significance to anyone willing to listen, I try my best to actually give credit where credit is due.
(I hope everyone can sense my tongue firmly in cheek when reading the last couple of statements, save for the part about giving credit where it's due... you never know, since serious to sarcastic then back to serious is a risky blog undertaking)
While watching coverage of the Olympics this week, and marveling at many of the performances by both male and female athletes alike, I found some of the commentary surrounding female athletes surprising - some of it laughable, some of it offensive, some of it perhaps taken out of (intended) context, but much of it just plain perplexing. More than a few times I found myself thinking, "did they just really say that?!" It made Hoda Kotb's frequently awkward (yet often harmless) commentary during the opening ceremonies seem almost refreshing by comparison:
"Every four years someone gets to say it, and now it's my turn... CHECK OUT Djibouti!!!"
Yes, Hoda, thank you. Check it out indeed. It's OK, I squat semi-regularly.
Anyhoo, New York Magazine posted a recent article on the topic of commentary around female athletes at the Rio Olympics, and you can read it here ("The Media's Olympic Overage Reminds Us Just How Taxing It Is To Be a Female Athlete") - below is an excerpt:
The Summer Olympics — that series of sporting events that whips spectators into a patriotic frenzy every four years — started just four days ago, but several media outlets have already reminded us exactly how taxing it is to be a female athlete.
The first offense came from NBC commentator Dan Hicks. When Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszú won a gold medal and broke a world record in the 400-meter individual medley, the camera panned to her husband, who was watching in the stands as Hicks said, "and there's the man responsible." Hicks later apologized for his phrasing and, "wished he'd said things differently," but not before Twitter could drag him...
What are your thoughts on it all? We'd love to hear about it in the gym.
WOD for 08-10-16:
On a 30-Minute Running Clock, Split With a Partner...
A) From 0:00 - 24:00
BUY-IN: 2000m Row, then...
AMRAP in Remaining Time of:
24 Toes-to-Bar
48 Overhead Walking Lunges w/Plate @ 45/35 lbs
400m Run
Only one athlete working at a time. Reps/work are shared and can be split in any manner the team sees fit. Score is the team's total rounds + reps completed of the triplet. If time expires while on the run, credit the partial run based on the last 50-meter marker passed.
B) From 24:00 - 28:00
Rest 4 Minutes
C) From 28:00 - 30:00
AMRAP 2 Minutes w/Partner:
Medicine Ball (or Bumper Plate) Russian Twists, pick load
Only one athlete working at a time. Scale intelligently if you are new to these - nobody sees your summer abs if you can't sit-up to get out of bed in the morning.