With the Rio Olympics meeting its close on Sunday, August 21st, endless news has been buzzing around this year's Summer Games. From Michael Phelps' legendary final swim to "#LochteGate" -- there's no shortage of prime material to reminisce and build upon. Though, while some stories strike gold... Others simply pulled up muck. Bringing forth a very real challenge outside of the sporting arena -- and instead within the social forum. Challenging the very professionalism of journalist moguls -- notably including that of, but not limited to, "The Chicago Tribune" and "The Washington Post." As well as physical broadcast commentators, most recognizably — "NBC"'s Dan Hicks.

The 2016 Olympic Games showcased one of the most talented female ensembles of athletes to date — from Katie Ledecky smashing world record after world record to the super human feats of The Final Five -- women dominated the playing field.

Ledecky alone won all gold in her singular events, as well as a gold and a silver between her two relay competitions. Leaving Rio with a grand total of five Olympic medals. Placing in every single one of her events -- proving to be one of the best in the world in a matter of a week. Breaking her own world records in stride, and leaving Rio's Aquatic Stadium as the first swimmer to win the 200, 400, and 800 meter freestyles at the same Olympics since Debby Meyer did so in the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City.

Simone Manuel made history becoming the first African American woman to win gold in an individual swimming event.

Hungary's Katinka Hosszu's won not only four Olympic medals - three gold and one silver - but broke both a World and an Olympic World Record in three out of her four events. Setting incredible times in both the 400 meter individual medley and the 200 meter individual meter relay.

The Final Five: Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian, all together took home nine Olympic medals after their series of events -- breaking the record of eight shared by the 1984 and 2008 teams. Simone Biles alone, wowed very audiences into silence as she solidified her place as one of the "greatest gymnasts of all time" taking home not only the gold in the Olympics Gymnastics All-Around, but becoming the very first American woman to win gold in Vault.

And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the incredible female athletic achievements witnessed at the 2016 Olympic Games. Achievements worthy of the fullest praise and highest accolades.

Yet — these are the commentaries...

and the headlines...

their successes are met with.

It's not hard to see what's wrong with this picture.

These women are not only being discredited for their achievements -- comparing them in explanation to a male counterpart -- but are even being passed off without name or value outside their "superstar" husbandry. Framing stories meant to depict miraculous and talented women successes within their athletic fields around these athlete's husbands, or the male athletes they may or may not represent. Pulling down women victories in favor of the wrongful preconception of athletic masculinity.

The Sports Court, an affiliation of "Fox News", even had the audacity to pull conventional beauty standards into the mix. Complaining they didn't want to have to "look at a woman's zits" when she was receiving her medal, even likening one Olympic competitor to a "washed out rag." The Sports Court and its hosts belittled every single athlete in their overall theme in solving the wage gap between female and male competitors to "sex sells." Claiming that if women looked "prettier" they would get more monetary gain, instead of addressing the very real issue of pay based on performance as opposed to gender bias.

Women athletes are constantly berated with detriments to their well earned achievements.

Athletes like Ledecky and Hosszu — arguably, the two most miraculous swimmers in the pool this year ‚ are forced into a box of likeness to masculine counterparts. Ledecky's talent, at the hands of former Olympian Connor Jaeger, is misconstrued to be attributed to her "swimming like a man." While Hosszu's success as quoted by Dan Hicks was solely due to her husband.

Ledecky does not "swim like a man", to Mr. Jaeger's wild disbelief -- she "swims like Katie Ledecky." She finds success from her own doing — her own training, her own resolve, her own determination, her own perseverance... Her own UNIQUE talent. She swims as she is meant to swim. She is not a duplicate of someone else, let alone a duplicate of a "male swimmer" — she owes her strength and stamina to nobody but herself. A successful female swimmer.

Hosszu does not owe her wild success to her husband, despite what Hicks claimed on-site. Sure, her husband, her coach, helps to push and assist in training and strategy. But, when it comes to the pool — Hosszu is the only one calling the shots. Hosszu is the person pushing herself -- catapulting herself to world record breaking contention... While her husband shows his much appreciated emotional and enthusiastic support from the sidelines. He is not the one that "made it possible." Hosszu herself was the one who got in that pool and did the work that allowed her to find major success within these Olympic games.

Corey Cogdell, yes she has a name "Chicago Tribune", won her bronze medal in Women's Trap Shooting out of her own talent. Framing her victory around her husband, Bears linesman, Mitch Unrein, is a blatant disrespect to her own individuality as an athlete. This could be possibly chalked up to Unrein playing for a Chicago team, however there are a million different ways they could've framed her success while maintaining her relevance to Chicago readers. They could've entitled the piece, "Corey Cogdell, Athlete With Significant Chicago Roots, Wins Bronze At The Olympic Games." Unrein wasn't even present in Rio when Cogdell won her medal. It was quite literally Cogdell, on her OWN, as an immensely talented tour de force, that attributed to her placing on the podium and receiving a medal for her country.

Female Olympians work equally as hard as male Olympians, there aren't any "but"s about it. They train and push themselves to their very limits in order to not only succeed within their own athletic fields, but represent their respective countries in a way that is truly profound. It should be common sense to treat them with just as much respect within reporting, however, this too often than not doesn't seem to be the case. Highlighting a very unfortunate gender bias within the world of athletic coverage. Not only could you never imagine the same statements being made about a male athlete -- you'll never see them. Male athletics have so long been raised upon a pedestal, they are received as the "superior" alternative. A wrongful insinuation perpetuated by a much too long history of sexism within the sporting arena.

In reality, every athlete is their own person. No matter how media wishes to contort this very unwavering fact. Every athlete works their hardest to succeed. Every athlete, especially within the Olympic Games, trains and perseveres in order to be recognized as one of the greatest in the world. No matter how they get knocked down, they always get back up again and finish the race.

Despite the negative stereotyping, the very clear wage gaps, the belittling, the body shaming, and sometimes the very blatant disrespect -- female athletes keep on running. They keep on succeeding, they keep on persevering -- they keep on fighting, to be the very best in the world.

Women are their own champions. They are their own warriors. They are the very pinnacle.

They are their own Olympians.