After Atalanta

The New York Times published an article this weekend about American swimmer Amanda Beard and the new stage of her life. She became a mother about a year ago and is working on a comeback in competitive swimming (she'll be competing in nationals this week; her first big meet since failing to qualify for the final races in the Beijing Olympics). I had some initial qualms about this article because I feel it constructs motherhood as some kind of happy ending, a positive life changer; something that drew Beard out of the pressures of her competitive sport life. And this is certainly how Beard is describing her new lifestyle. I just worry because one, motherhood is not exactly a stress reliever and depicting it as such when we are talking about an elite athlete makes it seem like the pressures are too great for women at this level of sport. And two, motherhood generally, from what I have seen and heard, often creates greater pressures and stresses. It is not any kind of escape. But I...

...that I meant to post on this weekend but didn't quite get around to. I was buoyed from my usual cynical position by three things that happened Friday evening, which was a very good thing because I had being having a crappy day until then. Anyway, the first thing (only because I am talking about it first--all three happened within about an hour of each other) is that NPR covered the Paralympics. It was a segment on, I believe, All Things Considered. The stars of the games including US swimmer Erin Popovich . The disqualification of an Irish soccer player because he was too able-bodied, and the doping scandals(there were four athletes sent home for steroid abuse). Then I heard on that same NPR station--not sure if it was local or national news--that the Basketball Hall of Fame has formed a committee to look into basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, particularly during segregation. It will review records of teams, players and coaches who have historically b...

South African Natalie Du Toit,who competed in the open water swim in the Olympics a few weeks ago, just earned her first gold medal of Paralympic Games. She is expected to win a few more by the time the games are over. The medal came in the 100M butterfly. She set a world record with her time. The above link also recaps other events at the Paralympic Games which began this past weekend. The US Paralympic team seems to be just as dominant as the US Olympic swimming team. The US won four gold medals in the first day of the meet.

Dara Torres took the fastest time in qualifying for tonight/today/tomorrow's (?) 50 meter free final. The 41-year old's chances not only at a medal, but for a gold are looking good. She could set a record no one will ever beat: oldest swimmer to earn an Olympic medal. So as we wait for the final here's a cute piece about some of the effects Dara Torres's return to international competition. It focuses on three women over the age of 40 who have gotten back into a healthier lifestyle that includes a return to exercise. It's kind of a happy happy fluff piece, but it does point out that some of the recent focus on these fabulous women over 40 (Halle Berry, Kim Catrall, Nicole Kidman) really does not resonate with most women. But people look at Torres, who became a mother in her late 30s, hear her talk about achieving balance in her life and though they may never get her amazing abs and shoulders, they do know they can get into the pool or start being active again no mat...

I don't want to dwell on this Amanda Beard posing for Playboy thing but I just read an editorial by a former male swimmer which, although not that well-written, raises some interesting points. Most of the male writers and commenters I have come across wholeheartedly embrace Beard's "right to choose" to display her "healthy body." This writer, however, questions whether her posing actually diminishes the view of swimming most average Americans hold. Writer/former swimmer bemoans the lack of attention and respect he and his fellow swimmers received for the amount of work they put into their sport. But he backtracks a bit saying that maybe Beard has brought some otherwise uninterested spectators to swimming. (Probably not if you consider the results of Mary Jo Kane's study.) What I found interesting though was that the author thought that men and women would have diametrically opposed views on this issue and wondering why more women "have not express...

Amanda Beard's photo spread in Playboy has been in the works for a while but the issue must be hitting newsstands soon [UPDATE: it came out June 7] because it seems there has been a surge in press coverage of the issue--and not just the actual magazine issue but the issue of female athletes posing nude or near nude for alleged publicity. Out of the Canadian sports media we get this compelling question I pass on to you: American swimmer Amanda Beard recently posed nude for the July 2007 edition of Playboy Magazine. The 26-year-old, three-time Olympian's decision to drop her drawers comes at a time when women's sports look to be on the rise in terms of both visibility and popularity. Is this bold move a step in the wrong direction for women's sports, or is it simply an athlete marketing themselves and their sport to a broader range of fans? The question, for some of us was answered a long time ago with our answer confirmed by the Mary Jo Kane study I wrote about some tim...

Syracuse University announced the other day that they are adding women's ice hockey to their list of intercollegiate sports. They plan to start in 2008 and are still looking at which conference to join. Unfortunately they are cutting men's and women's swimming and diving which both have long histories (men's team began in 1915 and the women's in the mid-70s). This article off the AP makes it sound like a purely financial decision. The swimming facilities at SU are in disrepair and new natatorium would cost the university $35 million. Swimming isn't a huge sport in the Big East and Syracuse has had limited success in the pool. Women's ice hockey is an emerging sport and it is popular in that area of the country and Syracuse will have plenty of nearby opponents. Facilities will remain an issue, though. Syracuse does not have a men's team and thus no rink. Of course because hockey is so popular, there are rinks in the area. The university is looking into wh...