Cambridge University investigated the types of language used about athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Words that were commonly used for men were “ battle ”, “ fastest ”, “ mastermind ” and “ dominate ”. In stark contrast to this, words associated with women were “ unmarried ”, “ pregnant ”, “ aged ” and “ married ”. This negative and irrelevant focus manipulates people to believe that men can compete at a much higher standard than women. Can men compete at a higher standard? On average, men are faster than women in a range of events from 100m sprints all the way up to the marathon. This is largely due to the fact that men have more muscle mass and fast twitch fibres in their muscles. Another factor contributing to their speed is that they typically have larger hearts, so they can deliver oxygen to the working muscles more efficiently. Although this is the case, there is evidence that women are outperforming men at longer endurance events especially at ultra - marathons further than 300km. Beyond that distance, women have a slightly lower average pace at 10:42min/kilometre compared to men at 11:04min/kilometre. Even though this doesn ’ t seem like much, in an event of 300 kilometres it makes a huge difference of more than 20 minutes! In March of 2022, skilled skier Shalane Frost competed in the Chena River to Ridge race. Frost won the race, well ahead of all of her competitors including the men.
She even broke the men ’ s course record by a whopping 16 minutes. The main explanation for women competing better at endurance events is likely that women have much higher levels of oestrogen, which makes more fat available as an energy source once the initial source, glycogen, runs out. How are we doing better? It is important to acknowledge and appreciate that the inclusion and fair treatment of women in sports has come a long way since Kathrine Switzer ran the marathon in 1967. As of 1984, women have been
permitted to run the marathon at the Olympics, as well as all of the World Major Marathons. At the 1995 Athletics World Championships, the prize money for both men and women was the same for the first time. After this, other sports such as figure skating and competitive long - distance running were quick to follow their lead. Prize money for the most running events is currently the same for both men and women. This includes prestigious events such as “ Two Bays Trail Run ” and the “ Stawell Gift ” all the way to smaller events such as the “ Geelong Burger Run ” and “ Run for the Firies ”. Equal prize money for events like the Stawell Gift is made possible by a Victorian organisation called ‘ Change Our Game ’. Following a report from the Victorian Government in 2015, ‘ Change Our Game ’ has been working to ensure women are represented in sports and that women have the same opportunities as men. Currently, most competitive and recreational sporting leagues have a women ’ s competition as well as a men ’ s competition, but these competitions are not very accessible. In the past three years, to continue playing Australian Rules Football, I have had to move to three different clubs. This is largely due to the fact that many sporting organisations still refuse to prioritise women ’ s sports.
Shalane Frost moments before finishing the Chena River to Ridge race.
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