So “putting on some muscle” is a bad thing to say to an “ATHLETE”? Meh it wasn’t even a question to Tuoey. If the girl that was being asked the question is offended then “ok”.
I have to admit I didn't get the disgust from Tuohy over the question. Then again, I'm old that kind of question doesn't bother me, and, I'm not a woman, but I can see how it might. I saw Valby race in the Southern Regional, she didn't look muscular to me, she looked like a fit runner. I admire all those women as athletes. Tuohy is tuff as nails.
Is there something I'm missing here? Commenting on an athletes muscle gain isn't offensive...like at all. It's pretty appropriate, actually, given the context. Saying that being "disgusted" by his observation is overdramatic would be a massive understatement.
I agree. I coach and will always comment on men and women athletes if they gain muscle. Tuohy is a shining example of a muscular distance runner. That isn’t objectification, but a coaches observation.
In this case, i believe Tuohy did it to go against doping speculation on Valby. Good on her. But in general, there is nothing wrong.
I thought maybe it was a comment to get her to talk about strategies for injury prevention, but after hearing the audio, it was very clear this was just some disgusting boomer giving away his pedo tendencies - "I have followed you very closely since high school"
Or he is somebody who follows the sport for a living and is doing his job.
I think leading a question with "I have followed you since X" comes from the position of having an inferiority complex....nobody actually cares, though he thinks people do.
Maybe. But in any case, what's wrong with following a high school runner? Lots of people follow Sadie Engelhardt and she's a high school sophomore.
Following high school runners is exactly what an expert on the sport is SUPPOSED to do.
Do we want reporters and coaches saying “Hey Parker, today is the first day I’ve every heard of you since I don’t pay any attention to women’s Cross Country, so do you think you can break 20 minutes in the first 5k?”
Reaction by Tuohy was absolutely priceless. Not just her saying "damn" loud enough for everyone to hear it but also her facial reaction. Then she just stared at the guy in disbelief that he could be stupid and rude enough to say that.
Also, I don't know where the talk about Valby "putting on muscle" is coming from. She is lean and fit, that is all. Emma Coburn looks a helluva lot more ripped than just about any distance runner and even she does not have much muscle. She is very lean and very fit so her abs are a serious six-pack and she has quite a bit of vascularity in her legs and arms but this does not mean she has a lot of muscle. I had the opportunity to talk to her for a few minutes a couple years ago and was surprised that she was as thin as she was. She's a world champion distance runner, so it is only natural that she is light weight. You are not going to see a female with FloJo muscles winning any 5000m races.
Odd comment. The Question was on zoom, so don't think she "stared at the guy in disbelief that he could be stupid and rude enough to say that." afterwards unless you mean she stared at a camera.
Also, strange that you call that question stupid and rude and then proceed to objectify the bodies of multiple women in your comment.
Is there something I'm missing here? Commenting on an athletes muscle gain isn't offensive...like at all. It's pretty appropriate, actually, given the context. Saying that being "disgusted" by his observation is overdramatic would be a massive understatement.
I agree. I coach and will always comment on men and women athletes if they gain muscle. Tuohy is a shining example of a muscular distance runner. That isn’t objectification, but a coaches observation.
In this case, i believe Tuohy did it to go against doping speculation on Valby. Good on her. But in general, there is nothing wrong.
Somebody should ask Tuohy why she reacted to the comment in this way. Without context or further explanation, Tuohy comes off as passive aggressive and sanctimonious. This behavior is not unusual among her generation; in college culture, there's an ever-changing and arbitrary set of tripwires that, when crossed, elicit moralizing, "shame on you!" responses directed at the offender. These are young people who believe they're open-minded but are instead defending a narrow and arbitrary moral code with the same intensity as a religious zealot.
To me, her reaction is more defensible if she interpreted the muscularity comment as a veiled doping allegation. However, Tuohy is now a grown woman, and we should expect her to behave as one. If she has an opinion, she should state it clearly rather than bury her criticms in underhanded, Mean Girls snark. Tuohy is one of the most famous people in track & field and cross-country in recent years. Culturally, she is the person with the most power in that press room whether she knows it or not. When she behaves this way toward a reporter, she is the aggressor. To borrow the lexicon of this moralistic crowd, she is punching down.
To the point about commenting on women's bodies: we cannot and should not pretend that all remarks about the female physique are instances of sexist objectification. This idea that men watching girls and women's sports or noticing the physique of female athletes is creepy or misogynistic blows my mind. The notion that girls and women crumble into a puddle of eating-disordered chaos due to an offhand comment about leannness, muscularity, or any other visible effect of elite-level training is far more misogynistic than the comments allegedly eliciting such pain.
Last but not least: there is some evidence that eating disorders may be a manifestation of OCD. My lay hypothesis is that sub-clinical OCD is beneficial in endurance sports and that this probably explains a lot of the correlation between ED and elite running. In other words, the cause may not be entirely environmental.
I don't really know what this is about and I'm not sure what other people have already said and discussed but firstly (as i said not seen the interview) but I feel like everyone is overreacting a bit, I'm sure it was a reaction but not so disrespectful that she should get disqualified? Secondly just an input, what usually triggers a reaction with that kind of question is that they are more common for women and men. Not many reporters goes into a press conference and asks or comment on male athletes how much muscles they put on or in other ways about their apperance while for female athletes how they look are always commented and therefore might rub some people the wrong way when they just want to be athletes and talk about the sport
This thread confuses two separate questions. If a runner is asked about changes to their own physique that is one thing, but there is no reason why they should be expected to comment about another's.
Last but not least: there is some evidence that eating disorders may be a manifestation of OCD. My lay hypothesis is that sub-clinical OCD is beneficial in endurance sports and that this probably explains a lot of the correlation between ED and elite running. In other words, the cause may not be entirely environmental.
It’s a universal law of physics that whenever someone says “last but not least”, it actually just means least.
I don't really know what this is about and I'm not sure what other people have already said and discussed but firstly (as i said not seen the interview) but I feel like everyone is overreacting a bit, I'm sure it was a reaction but not so disrespectful that she should get disqualified? Secondly just an input, what usually triggers a reaction with that kind of question is that they are more common for women and men. Not many reporters goes into a press conference and asks or comment on male athletes how much muscles they put on or in other ways about their apperance while for female athletes how they look are always commented and therefore might rub some people the wrong way when they just want to be athletes and talk about the sport
You should listen to the interview. The part about looking more muscular is embedded in a longer question about training. To me, it was a really uncontroversial statement and question. I know that people will not believe an anonymous message board poster, but I have been arguing with men about sexism since I was in high school and college several decades ago (at a time when most of my female peers did not want to call themselves feminists). Many of the arguments advanced in the name of helping girls and women in recent years are far from the feminism I learned about in my youth.
To steal John McWhorter's words describing the racism embedded in much so-called anti-racist rhetoric: this line of thinking regards women as a bunch of hothouse flowers. It's infantalizing. I have little regard for a line of arguments that cast women as childlike and vulnerable in the name of protecting them. There's a big difference between shooting down blatantly sexist rhetoric or narrow ideas about bodies in sport and arguing that we can't talk about bodies in sport because women will have psychological breakdowns.
I like Tuohy. I cheered for her throughout the race and loved seeing her win. I thought this specific response in the press conference was misdirected and immature. She's an adult now. If she has an opinion, she should state it. Snarky jabs are for teenagers.
Nothing wrong with it at all. In fact I follow kids from younger than that locally. But to preface a question about what the journalist has done comes from a position of wanting to let everyone in the room know this bit of personal information.
"I have......." -- starting a question like that usually doesn't end well. It's like a journalist taking a selfie with an athlete, which is okay, but not while on duty.
Yes, it was a great answer. I mean how does one think an athlete will deal with the hills? Ha ha ha....
How about, "having a looking at the course, the hills seem to be rolling but not daunting in length, have you had an opportunity to train on that type of terrain/course?"
This sounds vague, but alas, is not. It gives the floor to the athlete, who may say something interesting that could answer that former sophomoric question (killing two birds with one stone, and perhaps a third, because may lead to better follow-up questions).
This thread confuses two separate questions. If a runner is asked about changes to their own physique that is one thing, but there is no reason why they should be expected to comment about another's.
It seemed like the reporter was trying to say, "Parker, since high school, your results indicate an uptick in fitness and strength, and that is so great to see as someone who has followed you since high school. Can you tell us, what has changed in your training since high school that led to this increased strength and fitness?"
This is sport. A question related to training isn't or shouldn't be off the table. Parker actually addresses the question in this manner.
The reporter may have framed it a little roughshod, but..idk Parker got the point. If the guy was truly a fan, then it's unlikely he would be alluding to doping allegations (huh?) So..idk Katelyns response seems a tiny bit performative here, but I appreciate her dedication to injustice lol
We are living in a world where nobody knows what might be considered creepy or offensive anymore. We men can say the question seemed OK (I was more creeped out by the dude saying he has been watching her since HS, just the way he said it, not that it is inappropriate) and then the women can say oh it was an inappropriate question and nobody really knows for sure because it is largely subjective although the “offended” seem to be the ones who dictate the rules.
This site is the ultimate creepy when it comes to girl's running.