I am ashamed of myself. More so than usual that is. Usually I'm pretty up front about the things I don't care about, and up until today, I didn't really care about the London Olympics. Then I heard the breaking news that despite rules changes allowing the U.S Women's Beach Volleyball team to wear shorts and t-shirts, they have decided to compete this summer in two piece bikinis. Behold the squat:
Pretty freakin' sweet, right? That's not the part I'm ashamed about, though. You see, as I dug around the web for lots of bouncy-bouncy volleyball photos of these gals, I stumbled across a story about the U.S. Women's Weightlifting Team detailing the humbling reality of their Olympic experience.
These are not ladies you would likely consider to be conventional beauties. Most likely none of them got to be the prom queen. They experience little of the fanfare of representing us in the Olympics, and no matter how well they do - even if they win Olympic gold - they generally will live out the rest of their lives minus the fame and lucrative endorsement deals that other Olympians gain.
Take 275 lb Olympic Weightlifter Sara Robles (pictured at the top) who, according to a recent profile on Slate.com is, "...living/training on $400 a week from the U.S. Weightlifting Federation. While swimmer Michael Phelps gets paid to talk about how Subway provides some of the 12,000 calories he consumes every day, Robles must rely on food banks and donations to reach the 3,000 to 4,000 she needs." This despite being the highest ranked athlete in her sport OF EITHER GENDER.
And she's not alone. Meet Olympic Weightlifter Holley Mangold, who stands 5-8 and weighs 350 pounds, and despite being the sister of New York Jets center Nick Mangold, is also struggling financially due to the cost of training to compete.
That's why I'm urging every one to take a moment to sign a petition asking Sports Illustrated to put the U.S. Women's Olympic Weightlifting Team on the cover. To give them the recognition as competitors they deserve, and to hopefully spread the message that not only can they too be effective celebrity endorsers, but in a world of picture perfect air brushed magazine covers highlight that body image among young women has never been more distorted and in need of a reality check.
Click this link to sign the petition. And watch all the grunt-laden goodness of Women's Weightlifting during the Olympics in the coming weeks. Massive women deserve massive ratings.
~Globulous Maximus Out
