Olympians under fire because of weight

[Jolie Rouge]

Fat? We are fit. Get over it, say women athletes
7 hours ago

LONDON (Reuters) - American weightlifter Holley Mangold tips the scales at 346 pounds (157 kilograms) and she is proud of being the heaviest woman at the London Olympics. Mangold, 22, who competed in the women's 75 kilogram-plus division, is one of growing number of women athletes speaking out at their frustration with the public scrutiny of their body size and image rather than their fitness and skills.

At the 2012 Olympics, a list of top female athletes have hit back at critics who have called them fat including British heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, Australian swimmer Liesel Jones, and the Brazilian women's soccer team.

For Mangold, her weight is a something to be proud of. "Between my team mate (Sarah Robles) and I, I think we both showed you can be athletic at any size," said Mangold whose Twitter profile has the tagline "Loving life and living big!"

"I'm not saying everyone is an athlete but I am saying an athlete can come in any size."

Mangold, who suffered a wrist injury three weeks ago, came 10th in a field of 14 on Sunday, watched by her NFL-playing brother Nick, centre for the New York Jets. Robles came seventh. The 2012 Olympics have been hailed as the 'Women's Games' for including women in all sports and from all national teams with campaigners hoping this will lead to more role models in sport and increase female participation in physical activity.

The Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), a UK charity aiming to get more women into sport to build self-esteem and confidence, said only 12 percent of British girls at age 14 were doing enough exercise to meet recommended guidelines. WSFF Chief Executive Sue Tibballs said their research found negative body image was consistently cited as a barrier for girls participating in exercise as popular culture gave out the message it was more important to be thin than fit.

She said this negative attitude over body image was also applied to women athletes at the Olympics who are in peak physical condition with healthy body images but still come under fire for being fat.

EATING DISORDERS RIFE

"Women athletes will regularly get comments about their appearance although men won't," said Tibballs. "This really adds to the pressure on women athletes, many of whom already have a disordered attitude towards foods because they are in a controlled routine where weight is a key issue."

British triathlete Hollie Avil, who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, quit high-level sports in May for the sake of her health after the recurrence of an eating disorder brought on by a coach telling her she was too fat.

Tibballs said it was hard to believe that Ennis, poster girl of the London Games with a rippling washboard stomach, was called fat and accused of carrying too much weight by a high-ranking UK athletics official ahead of the Games.

Ennis, 26, won gold for Britain on Saturday.

Australia's three-times gold medalist swimmer Leisel Jones's figure was questioned by some Australian media before London, who suggested she did not look as fit as at Beijing in 2008. This sparked an angry reaction from team mates and an online uproar about body image and what constitutes fit or fat. "I'm embarrassed by the Aussie media having a go at Leisel, one of Australia's greatest Olympians. Support athletes don't drag them down," fellow swimmer Melanie Schlanger tweeted.

"U can't judge fitness from looks anyway and how about we don't criticize at all."

Jones helped Australia win a silver medal in the medley relay in London.

Britain's Rebecca Adlington waves after the women's 800m freestyle final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at …British swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who won two bronze medals at London, told reporters she was going to avoid reading Twitter comments during the Olympics because so many were insults about her appearance.

The Brazilian women's soccer team were called "a bit heavy" by the coach of the Cameroon team after the South Americans won their game against the African nation 5-0.

British weightlifter Zoe Smith won fans when she hit back at attacks on Twitter saying she looked like a "lesbian" and a "bloke", addressing her critics as "chauvinistic, pigheaded blokes who feel emasculated (as) we .. are stronger than them".

"We don't lift weights in order to look hot," said 18-year-old Smith, who set at new British record at London where she came 12th in the women's 58kg class. "We, as any women with an ounce of self-confidence would, prefer our men to be confident enough in themselves to not feel emasculated by the fact that we aren't weak and feeble."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fat-fit-over-women-athletes-193539328--spt.html


Hey, I don't care what you weigh. If you've made it to the Olympics then you are the best of the best. You are an Olympian! No one sitting on the sidelines judging your body can say anything that changes that. Screw um!

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Omg, seriously? Let these people enjoy their moment! They are representing the best in the world and we should be proud of them. There's always got to be someone who has to be the Debbie Downer and its usually the Media instigating it. Let them enjoy their time in the spotlight! They deserve it!

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last time I checked, it was the olympics....not a beauty pagent. I'd like to see some of these skinnies qualify and win any medals themself! smells like sour grapes...

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Gotta love how no one is criticizing the men for anything. Un#$%$believable. These women are doing something with their lives that most lazy #$%$ people couldn't even dream of and the only thing these people can think to say is how fat they are? This is our society. Women can do and be anything they want....as long as they look like skeletons while they do it.

[Jolie Rouge]

Anti-hunting mob urges Team USA shooter Corey Cogdell to shoot herself, advocates violence against family
Posted at 11:43 pm on August 5, 2012 by Twitchy Staff

https://p.twimg.com/AzWRRyLCIAEyCnn.jpg

Corey Cogdell is a Trap Shooter who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and competed in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

She also participates in trophy hunting (hunting of wild game animals).

After Cogdell published photos on Facebook of herself posing alongside animals she killed, anti-hunting activists took to Twitter to express their strong displeasure.



Lucia Levy@LuluLevy

@CoreyCogdell So you like killing animals? I hope you suffer a long, painful death. I trully do.



Natascha Bracale@TaschaB13


@CoreyCogdell pity the bus didn't crash. You are a waste of oxygen and an embarassment to the human race.Karma is a bi tch.

4 Aug 12

Some critics actually urged Cogdell to shoot herself:


Konejira@Konejira

@CoreyCogdell please go shoot yourself in the knees. YOU ANIMAL MURDERER!! you're a disgusting human being.

3 Aug 12




¡ElAmorDeTúVidɑ ♥@angel_alexaa

@CoreyCogdell kill yourself please !

2 Aug 12

Several more Twitter users appeared to encourage violence against Cogdell or her family:



Vanessa Lea Kapusta@NeSaLeaKapusta

@Animal_Justice @CoreyCogdell What a f***ing waste! WTFIs wrong with ppl?cruel!! These ppl need to be shot deheaded and posted on a wall

3 Aug 12


Mikito Sanmi@mikkitto

I really hope the olympic games do something about this murderer @CoreyCogdell sad, so sad maybe she needs to feel a shoot to understand

3 Aug 12


@pablito_honas

@CoreyCogdell I hope that someone someday shoot your whole familly just practicing.—
Pablo Honney (@pablito_honas) August 02, 2012

2 Aug 12

People are free to debate and disagree about the morality of hunting, but this bloodthirsty advocacy of violence — by supposed champions of compassion for all living things — is beastly and beyond the pale.

http://twitchy.com/2012/08/05/anti-hunting-mob-urges-team-usa-shooter-corey-cogdell-to-shoot-herself-advocates-violence-against-family/

comments

Can't you just feel the love and tolerance ....

...

I wish I could say I am surprised by the filth spewing from these "tolerant" Lefties, but alas, I am not. These "tolerant" people care nothing for the lives of aborted babies, so why should they care for an adult's life, or the lives of her family? Really, really awful, how these people feel.

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Yeah it's typical liberal thinking. You can kill unborn babies, but not baby killers. Smoking cigarettes is awful, but smoking pot should be legal. We don't have any more right to life, the planet, etc. than the animals because we're all part of nature, but then we're NOT part of nature when it comes to building a dam to generate power or a house to live in. Beaver dams are ok, our dams hurt the environment. Birds building nests in trees can't be touched because it's nature, but your house CAN'T be built if it disturbs those same birds.

You can't be against gay marriage because that's hate, but it's totally ok for them to hate YOU for being against gay marriage.

If it's hypocritical, illogical and intellectually dishonest...you can bet it came out of a liberal mouth.

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Of course; the hypocrisy on the left is so blatant. They want alternate energy but they also oppose wind farms. Remember, Ted Kennedy stopped the building of the wind farm because of the eyesore it would be... for HIS family. Al Gore has the world's largest carbon footprint. George Soros, the militant leftist, is likely the richest man in the world and the left hate rich, white guys. They hate Jesus because he "condemns people to hell" then they'll tell you Jesus doesn't exist and Christian's are delusional. They're all idiots. They have to be.

..

[Jolie Rouge]

Double standard alert: U.S. distance runner Galen Rupp wins silver medal, media suddenly decide race isn’t important
Posted at 12:03 pm on August 5, 2012 by Twitchy Staff

http://twitchy.com/2012/08/05/double-standard-alert-u-s-distance-runner-galen-rupp-wins-silver-medal-media-suddenly-decide-race-isnt-important/

[Jolie Rouge]

Gabby Douglas doesn’t care what you think about her hair
By Maggie Hendricks | Fourth-Place Medal – 4 hours ago

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/8xH_B1voRDon.9dUUgt0xA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTMwMDtweW9mZj0wO3E9OD U7dz0yMDA-/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/i/us/sp/oly/2012/20120802/6334.jpg http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/.9vt.ix.XAVJHPKok_3LSw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzQ1Njtjcj0xO2N3PTUxODQ7ZHg9MD tkeT0wO2ZpPXVsY3JvcDtoPTQyMDtxPTg1O3c9NjMw/http://l.yimg.com/os/388/2012/08/02/149695252-jpg_175420.jpg

A bit of an (incredibly silly) erupted over Gabrielle Douglas' hair after she won gold, as she was criticized for the state of her hair as she competed in the most important athletic event of her life. Like Fourth-Place Medal, Douglas found the discussion silly.


"I don't know where this is coming from. What's wrong with my hair?" said Douglas, the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in team and all-around competition. "I'm like, `I just made history and people are focused on my hair?' It can be bald or short, it doesn't matter about (my) hair."

Here is how she did her hair for the all-around final.
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/FR4P6sEnwLCN00q5nJDz6g--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusolyexperts/AP917302544917.jpg

And here is how she wore her hair during the uneven bars final.
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/eu_pPMxUOBUZ_NzW0HFkZA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusolyexperts/149906983.jpg

That's right, she didn't change it at all. She doesn't care what you think about her hair.


"Nothing is going to change," she said. "I'm going to wear my hair like this during beam and bar finals. You might as well just stop talking about it."

Well said, Gabby.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/gabby-douglas-doesn-t-care-think-her-hair-142324549--oly.html

[Jolie Rouge]

Lolo Jones taken to task by New York Times writer
By Joey Gulino | Fourth-Place Medal – 3 hours ago

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A New York Times writer has a problem with all the media attention Lolo Jones has been receiving. So, naturally, he wrote a story about it.

Jeré Longman, who to his credit has written several renowned sports novels, stages an impassioned but ultimately inconsequential argument against Jones's marketing of herself. "Jones has received far greater publicity than any other American track and field athlete competing in the London Games," Longman writes. "This was based not on achievement but on her exotic beauty and on a sad and cynical marketing campaign. Essentially, Jones has decided she will be whatever anyone wants her to be — vixen, virgin, victim — to draw attention to herself and the many products she endorses."

Other Internet sites have lashed back at Longman and his piece. They argue that Jones is only doing something that plenty of other athletes do — maximizing her marketability while she can — and they take issue with Longman's rather hostile accusation that Jones is playing up her well-documented rough upbringing in the process.

Longman goes on to pick other low-hanging fruit, such as the notion that Jones's approach is retrograde in the feminist movement, and he even enlists a University of Western Ontario professor to invoke the dreaded Anna Kournikova comparison. Only Jones has been more successful in her sport than Kournikova. She's a two-time indoor world champion in the 60-meter hurdles, and she was on her way to a comfortable gold medal in the 100 hurdles in Beijing when she clipped the second-to-last hurdle of the race, something that by her own admission happens only "about twice a year."

The whole lack-of-success argument falls apart when you consider the nature of track and field, too. A total of 50 women will compete in the 100 hurdles in London, and while Jones isn't a favorite, she's at least expected to be a finalist. In other words, if there's one winner in the event, does that mean there are 49 losers? But maybe Longman's right about Jones marketing herself. I mean, I can't think of any other female Olympian who's done that, too.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/lolo-jones-taken-task-york-times-writer-220914551--oly.html

comments

At least she'd be famous for actually *doing* something. What about the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, or Snookie ?

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I've got a fantastic idea... the Kardashians and all other pseudo-celebs with lots of money and no talent to speak of should start sponsoring Olympic athletes! It's a win-win: the athletes get needed sponsorship money and the celebs get to point at something worthwhile they're doing to justify all the brainless crap. People would have to give celebs like KK the benefit of the doubt...

"Hey look, Kim's tweeting pictures of herself in her bikini again - what an idiot."
"Don't be unAmerican! Didn't you hear she's sponsoring all the training for the Olympic hurdlers and equestrian teams?"
"Oh crap, really? That's really cool of her."
I'm telling you - it's a winner!

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And Decathletes Dan O' Brien and Dave Johnson didn't do the same thing with the Reebok commercials for the 1992 Barcelona Games..???.O Brien didn't even qualify for the Olympics...At least LoLo did....

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When you read the story about how Lolo endured and overcame obstacles and homelessness to survive, you want to punch the NY Times writer in his mouth.

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so, this new york times writer has a problem with her doing and saying certain things for some kind of self-serving attention, yet it's ironic that he's now gaining notoriety in the same manner by saying outlandish things about her. and this isn't the first time an attractive person has gotten unfair attention either...bottome line, haters gonna hate.

[Jolie Rouge]

..

NBC pulls ‘creepy’ Olympic video ‘Bodies in Motion’ after backlash
By Greg Wyshynski | Fourth-Place Medal – 10 hours ago

LONDON — The 2012 London Games have been labeled "the women's Olympics" thanks to record-setting performances and watershed moments like the dawn of women's boxing as well as the participation of female athletes from Saudi Arabia.

How did NBC decide to help celebrate this incredible time for women in sports? With meaningless objectification, of course!

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Wz4_NM_hKvCrBCcPq7BLnw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusolyexperts/NBNCNCNCNCC.jpg





"Bodies In Motion" was an online video produced by NBC in which women competing in various Olympic sports were featured in softcore, fetishist slow-motion highlights, while porn-tastic jazz music played on the soundtrack.

http://larrybrownsports.com/media/nbc-bodies-in-motion-video/150025

It looked like something a testosterone-filled teenager with a DVR would have spliced together for YouTube; instead, it was the official rights holder of the Olympics in the U.S. that produced it.

As of Friday night, the video has been removed from NBCOlympics.com, according to the Huffington Post. The original URL for the clip now leads to a page that reads, "The page was not found or there was an error. You will be redirected in a few seconds to the homepage. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Seems like NBC heard the backlash loud and clear.

Erin Gloria Ryan of Jezebel led the charge, calling the clip "creepy": http://jezebel.com/5933302/someone-at-nbc-apparently-approved-this-creepy-porny-video-of-female-olympians


u'd think that something called "Bodies in Motion" wouldn't be code for "Rejected bumper reel from The Man Show," but I guess I'm not plugged in to the hip, with it language of the youths nowadays or on board with the notion that Olympic bodies are at their most noteworthy when they're female, (mostly) white, stereotypically feminine, and thin. At least NBC's contribution to Boner Jams 2012 doesn't include any underage gymnasts.



Alyssa Rosenberg was equally baffled: http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/08/09/668191/nbc-olympics/%3Fmobile=nc


The cluelessness of it even extends to the written description for the video: "Check out these bodies in motion during the Olympic Games," as if the women it's portraying, none of whom are identified by name, or country, which might have been a petty distraction from ogling, are inanimate objects rather than people. This utterly contentless video, which communicates nothing about the events these women are participating in or what it takes to perform them, might meet the editorial standards at Maxim, though the video quality isn't even particularly impressive. There is no way it should pass the editorial standards for a news organization.

There was more reaction on Twitter, which you can find here. A sample:

http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Hbony4r4zY0guRHUqaVixA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusolyexperts/TWEEEREWWRWER.jpg


Here's where NBC went off the rails with "Bodies In Motion."

It's one thing to celebrate the human form, and the inherent sex appeal of Olympic athletes. These are bodies in peak physical condition, and it's OK to acknowledge that sexual attraction could be the determining factor in, say, choosing to watch swimming vs. weightlifting.

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Zr_O5ervP77c2Wpk1pIxpw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusolyexperts/CLOTHESSSS.jpg

But "Bodies In Motion" didn't celebrate the human form. It just wanted to show us a collection of images that look like outtakes from "The Kama Sutra: London Olympics Edition."

It celebrated the fact that women contort their bodies into provocative positions in field hockey and the high jump. It celebrated the fact that tennis players' skirts blow up in the wind and hurdlers have to take their track pants off before a race. It celebrated the fact that beach volleyball players pick their wedgies and occasionally pat each other on the bikini bottom. (Come to think of it, the video celebrated a lot of women's beach volleyball.)

Now, thanks to the backlash, we can celebrate that apparently better judgment prevailed in NBC's pulling the video.

But if it really wanted to make amends with offended women's sports participants and fans … how about three minutes of the 25 women and women's teams that captured gold for the U.S., raising their medals in super-slow-motion?

We'll even let you keep the porno music.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/nbc-pulls-creepy-olympic-video-bodies-motion-backlash-112452501--oly.html

See also : http//www.liveleak.com/view%3Fi=bcf_1344586580

[Jolie Rouge]

Overall Medal Count

United States 46 GOLD ~ 29 SILVER ~ 29 BRONZE = TOTAL 104

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/united-states/


https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/8/12/RWhpyiwx4kuBKUjUJW-LYA2.png

http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/roflympics

Olympic Round-Up: LONDON 2012 ABRIDGED

Wind up in a coma over the last three weeks? HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED IN THE LONDON 2012 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES.

Usain Bolt remained the fastest man alive, Michael Phelps confirmed that he's a child of Atlantis, and USA Gymnastics came out on top.

Then there was Mo Farah helping Team GB have the most wining Track and Field Olympics ever, Americans ran with broken legs, races were run by men with different legs, and hurdles were not necessarily overcome.

Men flew and the world sang and we briefly turned to the stars.

There were shenanigans and spectacular accomplishments. Victories for both teams and individuals, and sometimes and entire country will stand up and cheer.

Although we had fun rooting for silly things sometimes, this has truly been a Summer Games to remember.

[Jolie Rouge]

Sorry I didn't find this sooner ...

https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/7/26/GeEuLAHYhkqA75pzLPcsRw2.jpg

[Jolie Rouge]

Where Were You When Mo Farah Made History?


https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/8/4/cZ96JfdyiUa46qIg1eFy8g2.jpg

Every Olympiad brings us moments that we'll never forget. In 2004, it was Moroccan distance running legend Hicham El Guerrouj taking gold in the 1500m and the 5k in races where he unseated Bernard Lagat and Kenenisa Bekele in their respective events.

In Beijing it was Michael Phelps' unforgettable performance in which he set seven world records in eight races.

The memorable moment of London 2012 may very well be the moment that British distance runner Mo Farah crossed the finish line in the 10k, followed by American Galen Rupp.

Let's put this race in some context. The last time an athlete representing a country not in Africa has medaled in the Olympic 10k was 1988 in Seoul. The last time an athlete not representing an African country has won the event? 1984 in Los Angeles. The last time an American has medaled in the 10k? 1964 in Tokyo.

But all this pales in comparison to the most significant bit of history that was made today. When, you ask, was the last time a British athlete won the gold medal in the Olympic 10k? Never.

Mo Farah ran a race today that you will always remember. You'll remember where you were, what you were doing, and just how excited you got when Farah started to inch away from the field in the final 100 meters.

You'll remember the look of sheer jubilation that crossed his face when he took a peek behind to see his training partner Galen Rupp grinning from ear-to-ear. You'll remember Farah's daughter sprinting across the infield to her Olympic champion father, and you'll (unfortunately) remember the horrifying giant golden Wenlock plush that was gifted to her.

Most of all you'll remember the roar of the British crowd as Farah tore down the homestretch. In a race stacked with a world record holder, and some of the fastest distance runners the rest of the world had to offer, Mo Farah made history. Don't you forget it.

[Jolie Rouge]

Injures Achilles, Finishes Race On One Leg


https://i.chzbgr.com/completestore/12/8/7/KIIXBLoqQkqXvOaXspFO7A2.jpg

In what will very likely come to be an iconic Olympic moment, Chinese track star Liu Xiang finished his heat 100 meter hurdle heat on one leg after re-aggravating the achilles injury that forced him out of Beijing in 2008.

Xiang pulled up lame after the first hurdle, got up, and made a beeline for the tunnel, refusing the wheelchair offering to him as he hopped away.

But then Xiang stopped halfway down the tunnel and turned back towards the track. Still on one leg, he hopped the length of the homestretch, stopping to kiss the final hurdle before crossing the finish line.

We've seen a few unforgettable moments in London that will be talked about for years to come. We saw Mo Farah become the first British athlete to ever win the Olympic 10k. For the first time in history, the four fastest men in the world squared off in the 100 meters. The British gymnastics team took an unprecedented bronze medal in the team competition.

Liu Xiang's determination that he would finish an Olympic race no matter what will be one of those special moments.

[Jolie Rouge]

Team USA Sprinter Finishes Race on Broken Leg

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It's safe to say that Team USA sprinter Manteo Mitchell is a team player. Three days ago, he landed awkwardly walking up a flight of stairs and thought nothing of it. During his leg of the 4x400 meter semifinal today, he realized he probably should have been a little more careful.


As soon as I took the first step past the 200-meter mark, I felt (my leg) break. I heard it. I even put out a little war cry, but the crowd was so loud you couldn't hear it. I wanted to just lie down. It felt like somebody literally just snapped my leg in half.
With the fate of his relay team making finals hanging in the balance, Mitchell made the completely logical decision and ran the final 200 meters with what ended up being a broken left fibula.

USATF CEO Max Siegel described Mitchell's 45-second split as "an inspiration," dubbing him as a "hero to his teammmates."