In the last article I decided to touch on the topic of how difficult it is to be a woman in figure skating. Professional sport is a cruel thing, such an incredible philosophical conclusion, right? I won’t surprise anyone with this today. Physical education heals, sport paralyzes. I promise you that positive articles will definitely be on the website, but I know that you appreciate my authorship, because I address important issues in figure skating and talk about them as honestly as possible as an active athlete. But today, there are still some things to think about.
What is the hardest thing about being a figure skater? Daily training? Definitely. Growing up early, independence, lack of childhood as such. Why is it harder and harder to stay afloat as you get older? Fashion and fitness, absolutely true.
In a recent interview, Dmitry Aliev admitted that it becomes more and more difficult for him to return to the desired weight each time, and it becomes more and more offensive to watch noisy young people carelessly enjoying sweet buns and delivering “Tasty, period.” After 25, many men find it increasingly difficult to be dry boys. Compare the three-time Olympic champion Scott Moir in 2010 and 2018 or Evgeni Plushenko in 2002 and 2014. Here and there we are in perfect athletic shape, but in different age statuses. They have matured and become mature, fully formed, stronger and, accordingly, heavier. But the load has not decreased, or even increased. Well, at 30, excuse me, any hour of lack of sleep affects you like a terrible hangover. It is for these very reasons that I admire older guys who pursue their careers.
But what is the paradox? You see, even now I publicly admire how great the boys are. I respect their work and sacrifices for the sake of professional sports and to please the spectator. Because from a purely financial point of view – you remember – being an active athlete is much less profitable than participating in show chases in Russian cities. What about girls and their puberty? What does every figure skater go through between the ages of 15 and 20? You understand where I’m going with this, don’t you? Bullying and eating disorders. Here we are.
Every athlete, without exception, goes through puberty. And the problem is that for more or less five years we have become accustomed to the fact that a figure skater is a little girl who jumps in four sheepskin coats, without pronounced “feminine” features. But thanks to early emotional maturation, she is already a reasonable and experienced person, and not a child. And then metamorphoses occur. And outwardly, the child suddenly becomes a woman.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Alexandra Trusova, Gracie Gold, Kamila Valieva, Alina Zagitova, Caitlin Hawayek, Tessa Virtue and many others. Without thinking, without thinking, just to feel their own superiority over a person, people sometimes write things that cross all boundaries. Debate and increased attention are, of course, part of our work; we are media, no doubt. Why, please tell me, is a 17-18-year-old girl ready to be hated and bullied because of her external changes? Do you mind if I write about you and also shit on everyone who hates you? You can’t even imagine how an athlete feels because of a simple bile and “fat” carelessly thrown at him. We are used to the fact that we have to be ideal, but at present, by the nature of becoming a woman and making titanic efforts, we still cannot control it.
Do you know what the biggest problem and fear is? No no. Surviving comments is the smallest and easiest problem to solve. You stop reading and that’s it. What if your life was made up of bullying, humiliation and pressure on a daily basis?
Attention! Warning: sports are not about body positivity. “Accept me as I am” – it does not work here. In any sport, there are certain standards; in figure skating, aesthetics also apply. And this is a kind of obligatory sacrifice; if you don’t like something, don’t do it. And the joints will thank you. With too much weight for you and your load, training in full is not only difficult, but downright dangerous.
But!
Is it really necessary to weigh a pubescent girl in front of the whole group? Discuss how many pounds she needs to lose? Call her a ssbbw, send her running in a wrap while her partner skates on the ice alone or with other available girls in front of you, and force her to send reports on what she ate today? Yes, I’ve had a lot of coaches in my career, and at the beginning of my sports career, some would have been better off. Of course, you only get better because you don’t have the willpower and can’t stand it, and you still eat in the evening. Anorexia, bulimia, laxatives – all this happens to figure skaters because of fear, shame, guilt and fear of being kicked out or replaced. And then they nag you about the fact that you can be so thin, well, you can’t eat normally ?!
The topic of weight and appearance became the catalyst for all scandals in the house after the verdict given to my parents by a respected coach: “The girl will be fat in two years, I will not engage in training.” It has not been scientifically proven that a person suffering from an eating disorder is able to completely recover from obsessive thoughts. I underwent drug, hospital and psychological treatment. It so happened that admitting my problem and going into remission caused a lot of hate on the Internet. It was only thanks to the support of my family and loved ones that it did not break me and force me to give up everything one day. It is really difficult to live and work.
How to deal with this and what to change so that skaters never set foot on the RPP track? Support and understanding. This is very important for a growing athlete. I am writing this article mainly so that people treat us a little less categorically, with more understanding, or something like that. Because, imagine, athletes are not obliged to look according to the canons of a modeling agency. They must be strong, healthy, psychologically in particular. But I especially ask young coaches, my peers by the way, to think carefully. Who trains the next generations of athletes. Do not forget how unprofessionally you were treated, this is not the norm at all. The concept “I suffered – and you will suffer” is terrible. Based on our own experience and analyzing our own and others’ mistakes, this is the only way to raise a new, healthier generation who will love figure skating even more than we did.
A lot of athletes write to me asking for help, telling me how to cope with these problems and get out of the hole. This is a very difficult period for girls. The main thing to remember is that you have no one more valuable than yourself, and the second health in the spare box is not waiting for its turn. And even if you encounter manipulations regarding feelings of guilt about your external changes, do not let your mind get confused. And of course, do not hesitate to contact specialists when you realize that you are not exporting.
Your sportswoman Carrie Bradshaw.
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I’m John White and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. My specialty is covering sports news, which I’ve been doing for over 6 years now. During this time, I have worked as an author with Athletistic, a popular online news website focusing on sports topics.
