The Olympics are where the world's greatest athletes meet to show the world what they are capable of. Yes, the word is athletes. If you love your sport, train hard, and dedicate your livelihood to your sport like those in Rio, you are an athlete. So remind me why sexism has made its way into the Olympics? I don't recall that being an event. Let's face it: Society can get uncomfortable seeing women succeed. When something is male dominated and a woman starts to get ahead, it somehow makes everyone lose their minds. Apparently, people's way of reacting to this change is to just be flat out sexist.
I love to see strong, independent, hard working women go for the gold. While they have incredible coaches and immensely supportive families, those wins are all them. Audiences expressed their discontent over social media when Katinka Hosszù's husband was given the full credit for her win. The Hungarian swimmer smashed the world record in the 400-meter individual medley and received gold, and commentators said her husband and coach was "responsible for her performance." Viewers were disappointed by these comments, because she put in the work, she put in the time, she competed, and she won.
Let's talk about Katie Ledecky (you know, the super-human-fish hybrid?). She has been compared to men her entire time in Rio, and I'm sure throughout her entire career. Of course when you're going to compare athletes you need to put the conversation in context, so you might say a particular swimmer measures up to another athlete within that sport, even if the athletes differ in gender. It's when you compare someone to an entire gender is when it gets a bit shady. Ryan Lochte put his foot in his mouth when he was quoted saying, "She swims like a guy. Her stroke, her mentality: She's so strong in the water. I've never seen a female swimmer like that. She gets faster every time she gets in, and her times are becoming good for a guy. She's beating me now, and I'm, like, 'What is going on?'" What's going on, Ryan, is that a woman is excelling at her sport. How shocking.
Corey Cogdell was at the hands of sexism when she was called the "wife of a Bear's lineman" by the Chicago Tribune on Twitter, and they didn't even say what even in which she was awarded bronze (it was women's trap shooting, btw. Total badass). After facing the wrath of viewers, the Chicago Tribune tweeted out an apology saying she is "awesome on her own." You're damn right she is, and you should have acknowledged that in the first place.
On Sunday, Simone Biles competed with her balance beam routine and crushed it. She then joined her team on the sidelines and they began talking, like you do if you're a human being at the Olympics (or literally anywhere). While waiting for Biles's scores a commentator stated that, "They might as well be in the middle of a mall." I can't roll my eyes hard enough. If by "mall" you mean "in Rio at the Olympics because they are incredibly talented athletes who deserve the same respect all of the men competing," then yes. I'm glad we are on the same page. Simone Biles fought back at Olympic sexism by saying, “I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles.” YES QUEEN.
Even with comments like this, and many more, being thrown their way these women are taking the Olympic games by storm. They have trained countless hours to get to where they are, and now the entire world gets to see them present their skills and represent their countries. These women are paving the way for young girls to follow their dreams and know that one day they, too, could be at the Olympics.
