Secondary Writer ’ s Anthology
SECONDARY ENGLISH
Descriptions of the event gave governing bodies the ammunition to remove women ’ s sports, and they argued that it was incredibly taxing on the female body and of course it is, for men too! The International Olympic Committee banned the event and women were restricted to shorter distances until it was reinstated in 1960. However, video footage of the race shows nine women in the race, not 11, and every single one crossed the finish line. Not only did they cross the finish line, but three of them broke the world record originally set in 1922 at the International Women ’ s Sports Federation competition. This is just one example of how much of an impact the media can have on women ’ s opportunities in sports. Currently, the media continues to refer to women in sports very passively, if at all. New Zealand based research indicated that women in sports were 67% less likely to be the lead in a story and 20% more likely to be spoken for by their coach. Not only this, but the media seems more focused on the personal lives of female athletes, rather than their sporting achievements. They are nine times more likely to be photographed with their male counterparts, this takes away from their achievements and perpetuates the idea that a woman is only important if a man benefits from her.
THE FUTURE OF WOMEN IN SPORT By Charlotte A, Year 11
Imagine the breeze in your hair, the crowd cheering as you round up to the three - kilometre mark of the Boston Marathon. You have trained for this for months and you are more than prepared for this run. The press truck is in front of you and so you wave eagerly, grinning as you think about your mum seeing you on TV. Then you feel someone pulling on your shoulders. You ’ re thrown backwards but you stand your ground, you don ’ t stop running. You hear a loud, menacing voice behind you, “ Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers! ” Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially enter and run a marathon, despite the race director ’ s efforts to physically remove her from the race. As recently as 1970, it was believed that women were ‘ too fragile ’ to run long distances or even participate in sports. It was widely believed that it would cause women ’ s insides to fall out, infertility or even death. After the incident at the Boston Marathon in 1967, it was all over the media and people were outraged. They weren ’ t outraged at the assault, but rather the thought of a woman running a marathon. After Kathrine Switzer successfully crossed the finish line, she and her running team were banned from competing at events and the rule was introduced that the marathon was a men ’ s only race. This rule was not
Boston marathon race director, Jock Semple, trying to pull K. Switzer out of the race, but being pushed out of the way by her running partner.
overturned for another five years, when finally, in 1972 an official women ’ s race was introduced in Boston. Misconceptions in the media The first official women ’ s 800m race was run in 1922 at the International Women ’ s Sports Federation, which was created because of several major athletics organisations refusal to allow women to compete. A women ’ s 800m race from 1928 where it was reported that several women collapsed due to exhaustion heavily changed the trajectory of women ’ s sport. “ Below us on the cinder path were 11 wretched women, five of whom dropped out before the finish, while five collapsed after reaching the tape. ”, reported John Tunis, a prominent sportswriter of 1928.
49
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker