Diving, eating disorders, and age

During the Olympics, I didn't follow that much of the diving--just kind of here and there. However, I did watch the women's 10m platform finals and was quite startled at how underweight the two sixteen years old Chinese divers, Chen Ruolin and Wang Xin, appeared to be. It's reported their BMI is only 14.5, and they are only 4'6 or so. You can do the math there. Each won an Olympic medal respectfully--the gold to Chen, the bronze to Wang. A Canadian veteran diver, Emilie Heymans, took the silver. I believe she was just out of the medals in Athens, so this was a sweet victory for her.

So what was the winning recipe for these divers? No dinner for a year. Pretty scary isn't? In any sport, not refueling your body only harms it in the long run. For awhile, the body will adapt, however, eventually a crash and burn is inevitable, ultimately with the possibility of death. And in sports like gymnastics and diving where an athlete is jumping, twisting, and somersaulting at great heights, this not only can be highly dangerous but also lead to disaster.

Apparently, Chen's and Wang's coach, Yu Fen, does not care. She only wants to win. Here's a statement she has said about Wang.

"Even though she's a world champion and technically impeccable, an abrupt fluctuation in weight could be seriously damaging for Wang."

The Chinese coaching rationale behind this (besides winning) is that girls who enter puberty will gain weight (duh, inevitable really, that's all a part of human nature) and essentially make larger splashes. It's even been reported that some coaches have tried to stunt their athletes' growth. One diver, Jia Tong, winner of the synchronized diving with Chen in the 2005 Worlds, did not have her growth stunted. However, she paid a price with a "surge" in body weight and was excluded from the Olympic team. Whether it was due to this completely or not, we'll never know. However, there's a suspicion it was due to her weight possibly.

I think this assumption about splash is completely false. Although a lower body weight may have some accountability for hitting the water with little splash, much more of it is based on good technique and how vertical the diver is going into the water.

The article above does not say whether Chen took on the self-imposed starvation herself or followed coach's orders, but her reward for winning...indulging in a big dinner with her family and friends. That should never be the case, and it's sad to see a young girl (everyone included here) think this way. I'm sure many of us have had those similar thought patterns of exercising X amount, thus allowing ourselves to have X amount for dinner. It's faulty logic. Bodies need food for fuel. It's what keeps our systems working properly at optimum levels.

The other thing with all this is that it just reinforces the idea that a diver needs to be small, thin, and starve herself in order to win. That's just simply sad. I should also note that not all the Chinese divers on this Olympic team were too thin but quite a few, both men and women, were borderline underweight, according to their bios on the Olympic site.

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Besides these divers' body weights, I'm wondering if there should also be age restrictions for the assurance of the physical and mental health of these athletes. Of course, we know that can be a sticky situation as was seen by the presumption (or likelihood) of the underage Chinese gymnasts. However, according to this article, here were some other very young athletes at these Olympics. Most were divers or swimmers with one being only 12 years old. How come we didn't hear about this at the Olympics? My feeling is that since there aren't regulations in either of these sports, a big fuss was not made.

There's no doubt that these young athletes have talent. However, athletes, like the rest of us are human and go through the changes of life both physically and mentally, or I should say, they should be allowed to. As coaches of these young athletes, especially those who have moved away from home, there should be some nurture. In my opinion, this also includes making sure the well being of the athlete's body, mind, and soul is intact and capable of the stress and pressure of competition. It shouldn't be solely about winning medals which unfortunately seems to be the case in many situations.

Mass change of rules and regulations don't happen without an uproar, but it's highly doubtful there will be one in the sport of diving. Instead, it's all just swept underneath the rug, with a hush of silence even though we all already know the facts.

Looking at the Olympic commercials

Although I know logically commercials are only there to entice you, make money off of you, hoping that you'll be swayed by its contents to buy their products, but I still couldn't help but watch them during the Olympics. Of course, it's the only way, they really have to fill in the gaps between the events. Advertisers know that the majority of the people (2/3 worldwide) viewing the Olympics are not watching just for the commercials. (I'd say the Superbowl wins that title) Instead, they pay millions of dollars for a coveted ad spot in hopes that you'll see their ad, be persuaded, and buy their product. Amazing how commercialization works.

With that said, here's a rundown of some of the commercials featured. McDonald's had quite a few since they were the "restaurant for the Games." It helped that athletes like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt loved McDonald's products. Here's one of the ads. Don't you love that they have that girl with the ripped ads? I guess she got those by eating McDonald's.

McDonald's also showed a more touching side with this ad entitled "Layover" where the African-American boy shares his McNuggets with a Muslim little girl.

Then there was Coke who has been a longtime sponsor of the Olympics. One of the commercials this year looked at cultural stereotypes between the Chinese and Americans. The ad featured basketball stars LeBron James and Yao Ming, taking a break from basketball and "united" by drinking coke.

Coke also showed this one which I really liked, despite the fact that I no longer drink Coke or any soft drink for that matter.

Home Depot also aired several commercials throughout the Olympics, demonstrating their Job Opportunities Program in helping athletes. I think I saw something like 660 athletes, 180 medals, in one of their last commercials during the closing ceremonies.

VISA Gold ran a lot of commercials throughout the Olympics, showcasing various athletes in both triumph and heartache. Besides the music and graphics, VISA made a great choice in using Morgan Freeman for the voice. I'm still trying to figure out how they showed the VISA Gold commercial congratulating Phelps on his eight Olympic medals literally right after he won. I'm thinking it had to have been pre-made. I posed this question to my dad, and all he said was, "well, Morgan Freeman is out of the hospital you know." Okay, and that signifies? Despite these technical questions, I really liked the VISA Gold ads. I thought they showed true "Olympic" spirit.

I don't know how I missed this commercial by Nike. Or maybe I did see it, but it went by so fast? Who knows, but it's a great tribute to the Olympics with a cool song!

Although Budweiser is more known for sponsoring the Superbowl, the Olympics did air one of the popular Clydesdale horse ads. In this one, "Thunder" doesn't get chosen for the team. However, with coaching from the Dalmatian and his hard work, he perseveres and makes the team. How can you not win the hearts of America with dogs, horses, and the "Gonna Fly" song from the movie, Rocky. Actually, I have that on my ipod. I use it when I need inspiration, running up a big hill. I imagine myself like Rocky when he climbs the Philadelphia stairs and reaches the top! It works most of the time.

And lastly, if you can't wait for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , there is already a commercial promoting it. This is the first time I've seen it. Maybe those of you in Canada have already seen it. Kids plus winter attire, showing off the winter sports equals cuteness!

Whew, that took a lot of editing!
My apologizes to those who are on google reader and had to see these posts separately. I was trying to edit and condense them all into one, but it posted them anyway.

Attire and the Olympics

Having watched the Olympics for many years, I never really think about attire, but apparently it is important. There's already been the debate with swimming and the use of the new streamlined LAZR speedos. In synchronized swimming, the female Spanish duo's swimsuits were banned from competition. The team of Fuentes and Mengual wanted to wear embedded waterproof lights in their swimsuit. FNIA,the governing body disallowed it, saying it was an "accessory." Sequins are often on swimsuits, but these lights which were sewn in were not allowed. Still, the women came in second place.

Then, of all sports, in table tennis, there is a growing push for women to change their attire. Apparently, the governing body of table tennis, ITTF, has been upset by poor ratings. Therefore, it feels that female players need to have sexier outfits. Well, they call it outfits with more "curves." They feel that this might attract more sports enthusiasts and give popularity to the sport.

Hmmm, maybe this is why beach volleyball got so much primetime air this year?

Whatever happened to the fact that the Olympics is about athletic prowess and NOT what you're wearing? I remember back in I think it was 1996 Olympics where the Chinese gymnasts got deducted a tenth of a point, because their leotards were too high cut, it was something incredibly silly like that.

I just find it amazing how much controversy the Olympics brings, excluding the fact that it was in China. Well, at least we can wait another two more years until the Winter Olympics. I'm sure they'll be another whole set of questions brought on for debate.

Another age-defying moment in the Olympics

Like Dara Torres in her silver medal finish in the 50m freestyle, there was another age-defying moment in Olympics with Oksana Chusovitina of Germany winning the silver in the vault event finals. Chusovitina is now 33 years old, a virtual old-timer in a sport where the 20s are the norm for retiring. I find it incredibly amazing as well as her story of so much change and helping her son battle against leukemia.

Though I take nothing away from any of the Olympics medal winners--they've all worked hard, but I love hearing these types of stories of beating against the odds. I think it just gives a lot of inspiration to people.

Another way of cheating?

Doping is a big issue in sports worldwide. With the Games in session, it really comes to the limelight. There have already been a string of athletes charged with doping, including US swimmer Jessica Hardy who bowed out of the Olympics after testing positive for clenbuterol, a Spanish cyclist who tested positive for EPO, and seven Russian track and field athletes, some of whom were to compete in the Games, who illicitly substitued their urine for someone else's. There have also been eyebrows raised with several of the Chinese swimmers winning their heats in the 4x100 reloay, coming out of nowhere with exceptionally fast times.

Then, there is gymnastics. Though there was the Romanian gymnast, Andrea Raducan, who was stripped of her gold meal after testing positive for pseudoephedrine, a banned substance, which her coach had given her for a cold at the 2000 Olympics, normally, doping charges aren't in the conventional way in this sport. Instead, it's to do with falsifying ages. This is not new for the sport. In 1997, the age of eligibility to participate in the Olympics was raised to 16. Many felt it was for the safety of the girls. However, since then, some feel like it's only gotten worse, not better.

Currently, there is a huge debate about the Chinese women's gymnastics team with 3 out of the 6 appearing younger than 16 years of age. Supposedly, the team passports have been checked and all is okay. Hmmm. Just like eating disorders, this issue is a bit taboo, and especially in a host nation's country.

One outspoken person has been Bela Karolyi who feels like it is a slap in the face. He says it is obvious these girls are not the ages they say, especially when compared to the US gymnasts. These Chinese gymnasts are at least 3 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter. That's a whole heck of a lot, though it is hard to say for sure whether it is age or malnourishment, unfortunately. And with China's record (as well as other totalitarian nations--Romania has confessed to falsifying ages of Gina Gogean and Alexandrea Marinescu in 2002), it really can't be put past them. Apparently, Yang Yun, one of the Chinese gymnasts who won in the Sydney Games was only 14 at the time.

So, the question is, is this another form of cheating? And if China has done this, what is the answer to alleviating the problem?

According to Bela and Martha Karolyi, age restrictions should be lifted. That way, as Martha Karolyi says, "it would even the playing field." However, Bela Karolyi points out that there would still be the issue of using young gymnasts as "pawns" to win.

However, in this New York Times article, the Italian women's gymnastics coach apparently has the answer, "create weight classes." In this same article, he also says how it could be suspected that the US gymnasts were doping since they were so much more muscular than his gymnasts.

Great, that's just the answer. We need more of them to think about body image issues as it is or to have coaches doping their girls in order to stay at a certain weight. I don't know the answer to this issue, but I can tell you right now, having weight classes will only cause more harm than good. We already have boxers, wrestlers, and horse jockeys (all sports where there are weight classes) self-harm themselves in order to make their weight classes, I don't think gymnastics needs to be included.

Elite athletes and healthy eating

Eating disorders and disordered eating have recently been discussed in athletics. I've posted about it on here a number of times.. Although an eltie athlete's needs are different nutritionally than the average person, I think it's also important to showcase those who have "normal, healthy" eating habits.

Here are some brief interviews with Mary Lou Retton, Olympic gymnast in 1984, Apolo Anton Ohno, Olympic speedskater in 2002 and 2006, and Dara Torres, Olympic swimmer who now has won 10 Olympic medals.

Mary Lou's interview is here.

Apolo Anton Ohno is here.

Dara Torres is here.

Two other elite athlets in the sport of running also talk about healthy eating. With Kara Goucher who will be running the 5,000m and 10,000m in this Olympics, in this interview she discusses how she overcame disordered eating and now eats healthy, making sure she gets enough calories for her perfomances.

Jennifer Rhines never had an eating disorder but knew many of her fellow teammates that did. Her emphasis in this interview is that if an athlete wants to make it to the elite level, an athlete has to fuel his/her body appropriately. Otherwise, he/she won't last.

What I love about these athletes is that they do not count calories. Each eat healthily for their body, realizing food is fuel for their body, and if they want to do well, they must eat enough. The other aspect of these athletes is that they are not depriving themselves of "bad" food. They eat dessert, doritoes, m&ms, etc. It's all a balance.

I think it's just a good take away message. Sometimes it's easy to look at all the negatives, but it's important to remember the positives too and what we can learn from them.

Olympics, athletes, eating disorders, and the anxiety connection

As the Beijing Olympics near, the issue of the various aspects of sports is often discussed. Everything from the athlete stories (there are usually some very inspirational ones) to doping charges (no Olympics is ever filled without any) to what athletes are wearing (the buzz is on the new skin tight, fast swimsuits and running shoes) to eating disorders (though that one isn't as publicly mentioned).

In today's Telegraph from the UK, Susan Ringwood, the chief executive of BEAT, a UK charity which helps those with eating disorders, said that up to 40% of the female athletes at these Games could have eating disorders. She said, "there is increasing pressure on female athletes to not only perform well, but also to look good." The obvious sports where this would likely be more apparent are gymnastics, diving, and swimming.. However, other sports to consider would be rowing,, track and field, especially long distance running, equestrian, cycling, and wrestling. I'm sure there are others, those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Ringwood also made the point how it can be difficult to determine whether an athlete has an eating disorder when they already carefully control their food intake and exercise. She asked, "Does someone have a body like that because they want to win a gold medal, or because they would feel useless and disgusting if they looked any different, and want to have some emotional control?"

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I recently read a brief interview in People about the swimmer Dara Torres and her bout with bulimia. If you don't already know, Dara is the 41-year old swimmer who is making headlines going into her fifth Olympics with a good shot at winning the 50m freestyle. She went through a five year battle with the disorder, including at the1988 Seoul Games where the number one ranked female swimmer in the world finished seventh. So depressed after that, she retire from the sport all together. Eleven months prior to the 1992 Olympics, she knew she had to end her bulimia if she wanted to do well. She amazingly stopped "cold turkey" and has since then been recovered. Here is one article where Torres and a few other swimmers who also went public with their eating disorders talk in depth about their struggle.

The connection between elite athletes and eating disorder is now new. There have been a number of studies explaining the higher risk for disordered eating/eating disorders in certain sports as mentioned above. Last week, a new study in the International Journal of Eating Disorders showed that women who participate in a high level of athletics and have sports anxiety are more at risk for eating disorder symptomology. This is a significant study, because it looks at the factor of anxiety which has been linked to eating disorders.

So as the Olympics is only a week away, I can only imagine what some of these athletes may feel. While there is the thrill of making the team and representing their country, there is also an enormous amount of pressure which some will succumb to well and others may not. For some, the medal will make the difference in their own lives as well as their families.

Those with sports anxiety and/or eating disorders/disordered eating may have a harder time if they are constantly worried about both their performance and how they look which we know is always just the surface issue. However, in some sense, how can they not be? They have the whole world watching them, cheering them on for their victories, yet recounting every misstep too. For some athletes, this will definitely be "16 days of glory," while for others it may be "16 days of agony." Okay, I'm being dramatic here, but you get my drift. It's a lot of pressure from all realms and is a real test to both the body and mind.

Related posts: The female athlete triad
Olympics, gymnastics, and mentality

Olympics, gymnastics, and mentality

image: wikipedia

The Summer Olympics is fast approaching. This is a controversial Olympics since the site is Beijing, and China has been in the news a lot this year. Nevertheless, whatever your opinion may be of China, I think there needs to be a lot of respect given to the athletes as a whole in general. I'm hoping political differences will be put aside and the true Olympic spirit will prevail throughout these games. After all, that is the theme of the Olympic Games.

Anyway, this post isn't so much about the site of the Olympics, that was just a preface ;-) Many sports are now having their Olympic Trials to see who will make the list to Beijing. Under the American system, it's all objective on that particular day even if you may be a star athlete in your field of sport. Talk about some major pressure! Other countries allow more leniency, so if a star athlete is injured who is likely to medal at the games, the individual can still be on the ticket to Beijing through selective choosing.

Last weekend was the U.S. Olympic Trials in gymnastics. I didn't know it was going to be on, but I was really glad I was able to watch it. In my former life, I was a competitive gymnast, so gymnastics will always hold a dear special place in my heart. Although I do not follow it as closely anymore ( no more gymnastics magazines, taped televised competitions, all the latest gymnast gear, etc.), I do try to watch it when I can. These days, I'm more interested in the psychological aspects of the gymnasts than the sport itself.

Over the years, gymnastics has evolved greatly. In 1997, the age requirement for gymnasts was changed to 16. I don't know if any of you remember in the 1992 Barcelona Games, there was a North Korean gymnast who looked like she was 12 years old! I can't help but think that did not play a role. It was later discovered that the gymnast's birth certificate had been falsified and changed. In 2005, the code of points was changed, following more of the figure skating scoring system with emphasis on difficulty and execution. So for now, no more of the elusive 10.0 which Nadia Comaneci earned in the 1976 Olympics. Now, it's a 17!

I think one of the biggest changes came after the death of Christy Henrich, a world class US gymnast who died in 1994 of multiple organ failure due to her anorexia and bulimia. She had just missed out on making the 1988 Olympics by less than 0.200 tenths. Prior to those Trials, a US judge remarked on her weight which was the catalyst for her weight loss. After her death, several other well known gymnasts like Nadia Comaneci, Cathy Rigby, and Kathy Johnson came out about their own ordeals with eating disorders. Other changes took effect as well. In the mid-90s, media stopped displaying the gymnasts' weights. In 1996, the Athlete Wellness program was formed, educating coaches, nutritionists, psychologists and athletes about the importance of nutrition, the female athlete triad, etc. in the sport.

And in 1995, we can't forget the now what some call infamous book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes by Joan Ryan, was published. It exposed the dark secrets of the sports of elite gymnastics and figure skating. Some found it eye-opening, while others felt it was one-sided and Ryan held a grudge.

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There is no doubt that in elite gymnastics, there isn't sacrifice, blood, sport, and tears. Really, this can be said of any activity where someone is at the cream of the crop. Gymnastics and other appearance related sports (cheerleading, diving, wrestling, ballet) seem to be more disconcerting since there is usually a higher emphasis on body image which can lead to risk for eating disorders/disordered eating. Many studies have shown this and too many to cite here.

Besides that, there is a huge mental component in any sport. With the Olympics being a a little over a month away, that pressure rises higher. Even at the conclusion of the trials, only the top two gymnasts (Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin) were guaranteed spots to Beijing. The rest of the gymnasts who are invited go to the Karolyi ranch where a team will be finalized July 20th. Yep, it's definitely some major pin and needle time for these gymnasts.

I also couldn't help but notice several things as I watched the trials. One, the commentators just kept mentioning injury and injury of these gymnasts. Some have come back healed and well, while others are still on the mend but competing anyway. Many times they mentioned Alicia Sacramone and how she was in tears 4 years ago just short of making the team. Though it is likely she will make the team this time around, if she didn't she'd probably be known as the gymnast who didn't make the team twice, or as others might say the horrible "F" word, failure.

I also noticed one gymnast in particular, Ivana Hong, who reminded me a lot of me, it was quite uncanny. Gymnasts often times do have serious faces, but there was something with hers that just yielded to the fact that she places an immense pressure on herself to be perfect. Then there seems to be a trend among parents of gymnasts also being their coaches. That can be a tough relationship and definitely needs to be handled with care.

It'll be interesting to see what happens. The thing about pressure and mental toughness is that they are the characteristics which can be both positive and negative for competitive athletes. I remember in the 1992 Olympics when Kim Zmeskal fell off the balance beam. The crowd was shocked. Then the next day, there were headlines that questioned whether she had succumbed to pressure of the Games or if we were pressuring these young gymnasts too much. If something like that happens again to let's say Shawn Johnson or Nastia Liukin who are heavily favored as all-around contenders at the Games, you bet, there are going to be similar headlines. It's a sad fact, but that is what happens. In some sense, it is true, while in others it is not. And sometimes it's hard even for the athlete to recognize the pressure and who she/he may be performing for.

The other thing I often wonder about these athletes or any after they complete the Games is what happens next? Some continue with training and maybe hope for another Games, others retire from the sport, a few try to get a college scholarship and put in four more years, some move on and do something completely different. Then there are those who don't know what else to do, as gymnastics (or insert any sport here) was their life, their identity. It was their passion (okay, maybe I'm being a little more reflective than I planned here), and it becomes difficult to find a new one. I think it's one reason why many gymnasts go into coaching. It's what they know and also probably love too. Still though, since gymnasts' careers in general end earlier than other sports, it really can be a trying time for them. I think the one positive thing of stopping gymnastics for most of these athletes (and you can't say all of them have disordered eating) is that they go off their stringent diets and eat healthier, have more normal food intakes.

I guess in whatever happens, it is my hope that they find balance, remain healthy, and do what is best for their own sake. Sometimes I want to say to some of these athletes that it is okay to be a little selfish and do what you want to do.