Female Athletes

Yesterday, as part of the Blogspotting feature at Women Like Sports, Apryl DeLancey linked to my post from earlier this month that showed Aneta Florczyk performing a strength event called the Farmer's Walk. I'm returning the favor because I think the video embedded in Apryl's post is hilarious. Be sure to check it out.

I leave you this Friday with another impressive display of female strength:



How's that for strong?

USA Track and Field has named Stephanie Brown Trafton the winner of the 2008 Jesse Owens Award. Trafton won a gold medal in discus throwing at the Beijing Olympics, the first American woman to win that event since 1932. She again makes history by becoming the first female thrower to win this prestigious award.

Natalie Coughlin is USA Swimming's Female Athlete of the Year.

Japan now has its first female professional baseball player, Eri Yoshida, who was drafted this week by the Kobe 9 Cruise. This is big news in Japan, and the response has been mostly positive (though not without a few naysayers). Yoshida looks forward to the challenge; she proclaims, "I want to pitch against men."

Strongwoman competitions test the strength and endurance of competitors with several demanding events, perhaps none more arduous than the Farmer's Walk. Better, though, to show you how it works than try to describe it, and who better to do that than Aneta Florczyk, the World's Strongest Woman? Watch as Aneta sets a record by carrying 154 lb (70 kg) in each hand for nearly 1/10 of a mile (150 m):

Now that the long political season is over, and the flock—or the gang, depending on how you choose to view it—has its new leaders, we can instead focus on what happens when someone goes about doing good in the world without waiting for direction or worrying about what others are doing or not doing. What follows is a promotional spot for HALO (Helping Art Liberate Orphans), the foundation started by former taekwondo champion and Rigged star Rebecca Neuenswander:



I hope you didn't give all your money away to politicians and can join me in making a donation to HALO.

A piece by Anna Kessel posted at guardian.co.uk talks about the high incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and other injuries experienced by female athletes. Some are calling this an epidemic. That is most likely hyperbole, but the problem is real. The solution, however, may not be difficult or complicated. For instance, strength training, especially if started at an early age (i.e., under 15), would prevent many if not most of these injuries. The first two risk factors listed at the end of Kessel's piece make this clear:

Adolescence After puberty, risk increases by between two and eight times. While men's muscles gain power, women's become more flexible - this is dangerous without sufficient muscle to keep joints stable.

Ligament dominance Without strong muscle development, women compensate using ligaments to absorb force on the knee.

So do the results when strength training is put into practice along with other measures:

Strength and conditioning programmes have helped White [England and Arsenal defender Faye White], and the England team doctor, Pippa Bennett, believes increased preventative measures in the under-15s through to the senior side are bringing the casualties down. 'You've only got to look at the results of our agility tests to see the improvements,' Dr Bennett says. 'We did that test on the senior team five years ago and we were concerned by the movement patterns being at risk with quite a few of them, but with the strength and conditioning that's all changed. They are fitter for their sport, they learn about the alignment of knee joints and how to move safely.'

Parents and coaches, then, greatly benefit young athletic girls when they encourage them to start training with weights early on. And let us put to rest the silly idea that a girl is somehow remaking herself into a boy when she builds up her muscles; having a strong, healthy body is not the exclusive privilege of boys.

Strength training makes female athletes better athletes (no matter the sport). More important, it makes them less prone to serious injury.