Why do women athletes compete in clothing so skimpy it could be underwear?

no it's ok I have the impression I am typing very muddled or belligerant texts today and I can't ifgure out how I'm doing it

Apologies Zzzenagain - totally misread your post and thought you were saying that athletes were no better role models than surgically enhanced pop stars

Oh My EYES ISNT!

Meow75 - she's rather amazing and we're sooo glad she's marrying BIL - there's going to be at least one olympic gold medalist at the wedding! I am the slob of my IL's family - DH is an ex-international rugby player, BIL has been in team GB for triathlon for the last 2 world champs, he's marrying this amazing ex-sprinter (who has represented GB sooo many times and now is personal trainer to the stars - two of her clients are currently in the top 10), and then there's me - who likes biscuits and sitting down...

DYTTS - re the woman winning the 5K - long distance events aren't usually won/lost by 0.1seconds. They aren't won/lost on sheer acceleration out the of blocks, so it's not as important about the clothing - apparently.

I'd find it strange to see tennis players dressed like that too, maybe for the same reason , it would jar on me because I'm not used to it.

yes it is interesting abou the swimming costumes. I suppose it is the change. I am used to seeing swimmers in swimming costumes so think nothing of it. I am not used to seeing the light athletic women dressed like that and so it feels wrong to me. Maybe it's that.

Oh it was like this

snigger

Sorry to lower the tone...

Damn can't find it.

I once got sent a joke which has a picture of a cycling team obviously having won something, all in a line. They all had white cycling shorts on and there was absolutely nothing left to the imagination

It was v funny and was trying to make teh point that much of mens sports gear isn't modest either!

"It's my personal view and a matter of taste. Other people may think it is a really nice development and looks better than what they used to wear. "

You see my point is that I don't really notice what they're wearing, I mean I can see that it's shorts etc but what I'm really looking at is how strong they are/how fast they're running etc.

How do people feel about swimming costumes?

it's actually not my thread

even if I am talking a lot!

ZZZenagain, of course it is going on to some degree, but it's better than it's ever been in terms of the number of athletes who don't want any part of it, and are prepared to speak out against it.

Can I just say, at this point, this has been a very interesting and enjoyable discussion. ZZZenagain, and everyone else, thanks. But I really need a shower!

ZZZenagain, I know we veered from your original thread title, and I hope you don't mind about that, but it has been good.

FakePlasticTrees - about your SIL2B.

"I am saying that I cannot say how any woman who did dope in order to do well at sports could be a good role model for a girl any more than a woman who had plastic surgery to succeed in pop music/film or whatever else. "

that's what I wrote and I think it makes it clear that I think neither is a good role model for a girl so why would you assume I'd want my dd to have surgery?

Personally I think some of the running knickers are getting too 'brief'. I agree that it is more comfortable to run in fitted clothing but some of the knickers worn are so little. I honestly don't see what difference a bit more material so the knickers came up a bit higher would make.

The woman running for Turkey who won the 5k managed to do so in much more modest clothing.

I think you are reading a lot into my posts that is not there

If wearing less clothing means that you are going to increase your chances of winning then they are going to wear it. And a millisecond can count for a lot. Yes there is some doping that goes on but it is very rare and the tests are so regular and unscheduled that the vast majority of athletes compete on sheer skill. And yes I do think they're better role models than women who have had surgery to compete in pop and fashion.

Would you want your DD to have surgery?

Meow

Omn, thanks for helping my poor little bear brain!!!

I knew they were both "involved" somehow; just trying to save time by mixing up their names!!

I don't think you need to be a professional athlete to get the impression that doping goes on. Everytime any major high-level sporting activity is on, the commentators touch on it in more or less detail. And people are caught out all the time, so to some degree it must be going on, even post cold war.

Darren Campbell was very outspoken against Dwain Chambers and famously refused to race in the relay with him after Chambers was allowed back.

argh no
I don't think they are flaunting their bodies for men
I think it is a movement in sport fashion that I persojnally don't like the look of and maybe it shaves of a millisecond and is therefore important but I don't really think it is necessary to wear the brief shorts. It's my personal view and a matter of taste. Other people may think it is a really nice development and looks better than what they used to wear.

Ok

and yes, I think that doping is a problem in sport once you get above a certain level whether you succumb or not. The pressure to do better and better puts a limit on what can be attained naturally.

I am not claiming that Jennifer or anyone else doped, how would I know and I am not assuming it.

I am saying that I cannot say how any woman who did dope in order to do well at sports could be a good role model for a girl any more than a woman who had plastic surgery to succeed in pop music/film or whatever else.

Darren Campbell. Sorry - too many D's and C's!!!

So you admit you know nothing about professional athletics but you think they're wearing those clothes to flaunt their bodies and they're all taking performance enhancing drugs Zzzenagain?

Nice.

Greece?

Dwain Chambers Meow?

Zzzzenagain (Did I get the number of Z's right ), Working from memory the last Brit athlete to be caught using a banned substance (possibly nandrolone) was Darren Chambers, it's long enough since that he has served his ban, had a go at pro Rugby League, didn't like it and returned to competitive athletics.

Team GB is not a hot bed of banned drug use, can't speak for other countries but I would suspect that it's only the daft, really secretive ones like N Korea and China that seriously think they could get away with it. The Chinese athletic associations had to show that their drug testing regime was rigourous enough to cope with the recent Olympics, so their home athletes were tested often during training to ensure that results were secure and reliable. Imagine the shame on the authorities of someone testing + when they were -. The Chinese athletes must have been like pincushions!!