Athletic Women Blog

A Wall Street Journal article informs us that more than 40 percent of the athletes competing at the 2008 Beijing Games were female; what is more, that figure is expected to reach 50 percent at the 2012 London Games. Yes, it's overdue, and areas other than just numerical equality still need attention, but this is good news all the same.

For many, it's a struggle to balance spirituality with the practical matter of living a full life. For women, this is sometimes made especially difficult. Thus you have to admire Ruqaya Al Ghasara and what she has been able to achieve without giving up what I'm sure she cherishes most—her faith. (See also this link.)

By the way Not incidentally, Al Ghasara made it all the way to the 200m semifinals.

Why have Chinese weightlifters like Cao Lei been so dominant this Olympics? Well, one possible explanation has emerged. Perhaps most interesting, it spotlights an advantage that women have over men.

The 2008 Summer Olympics officially opened in Beijing with a huge ceremony this morning (the opening ceremony airs tonight in the US). Watching the world's best female athletes compete will be a great way to spend these last dog days of summer. And making that even easier to do will be the unprecedented amount of live and on-demand video available online. Viewing this content requires the Silverlight plug-in and a short, painless registration process. Visit NBCOlympics.com to start watching the Games online.

Switching gears, but only a little, I have to say that I'm starting to get pumped about the return of Sarah Connor Chronicles, especially after seeing this promo:



This suggests to me that Summer Glau will be not only back for season two (season one's finale left that open) but also turned loose as the show's muscle, something SCC didn't fully commit to during its first season. If so, I say, Hurray! Summer is the best thing about an already good show, and SCC will get only better if it follows through on the promise hinted at here.

That was comedian Rodney Dangerfield's catchphrase. I imagine it's also how female athletes must feel sometimes. Consider, for instance, what has been said recently about Dara Torres:

Rather than praise Dara as a role model, Deborah Kotz insists that she's merely someone who makes other women feel bad about themselves. Her message to women, in a nutshell: aspire to nothing extraordinary. (Alas, the age of the athletic heroine is past, short-lived though it was.)

I mentioned earlier that the effort to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs from sports is starting to look like a witch-hunt. Read Amanda Schaffer's screed and see what you think. Her message: if you're too good, we'll cut you down to size.

And fresh from the grade-school playground, imbecilic remarks such as this one invariably spring up whenever a female athlete is the topic of conversation. (Yep, the ol' "Yuck! women shouldn't have muscles" mentality is still alive and kicking, at least in some quarters.)

Finally, if that wasn't enough, some female athletes—that is, those who, once more, are deemed too good; heads up, Dara—will be tested for "maleness" in a "gender determination lab" (which to me sounds like something out of a Frankenstein movie) at the Olympics. It's hard to imagine how degrading this must be.

I sometimes wonder why they do it. Female athletes reap only small rewards compared to those given to male athletes, yet they suffer many times more the number of indignities. No matter, they persevere anyway. Question whatever else you want, if you must, but the female athlete's dedication is beyond doubt.

Jennifer Widerstrom (aka Phoenix), one of the new American Gladiators this season, is an outstanding all-round athlete. She was a track and field star at the University of Kansas, specializing in hammer and weight throwing (photo), and she has also competed in diving, rowing, gymnastics, and NPC figure. Jennifer looks like the explosive athlete that she is, with what is perhaps the best physique on the show. She introduces herself in this clip (use link if clip doesn't play on page):



The two-hour season finale of American Gladiators will air this Monday (August 4).

(Additional sources: Bodybuilding Weekly; University of Kansas Official Athletic Site.)