Thin ice skaters

[Daygloboo]

I dont know if im right but the ice skaters look painfully thin to me. I remember them looking toned but a healthy weight years ago. John Curry was nicely toned. A lot of them now look far too thin.

Ok sorry for all the posts But I just looked at Piper's post and it showed her eating 2 eggs on toast for breakfast, two eggs for a snack, and eggs on fried rice for supper so I do think that comment was a bit misleading. Giving kids the wrong idea about how little athletes eat is also harmful.

TBF there are very few chubsters in the Winter Olympics.

It was on TikTok she posted the two eggs but even the diet you describe is restricted eating for the calorie burn they will do in a typical days training. As well as on the ice they gym train as well. The documentary on Netflix is interesting but I was shocked she ate so little when I saw how much they train.

I was watching the uphill skiers races and thought that the men looked like daddy long legs stick insects. It could have been the camera angles though.

Sorry I stand corrected then. I think it might have been a paid partnership. I agree though that it's not a lot of food for the amount of traning.

Yeah I don't think we'll see chubby Olympians until they add darts to the schedule 😁

There was one curler in the British team who looked larger than her teammates.

Was there an explanation of the 2 boiled eggs? What was the rationale behind it?

World-class athletes with super-human levels of fitness competing at the Olympic Games and a lot of them are on the slim side.

Gosh. I have no idea why that could be... 😂

@justtheotheronemrswembleycome on, read the thread and you will figure out that is not what is being said.

You're talking about Kamila Valieva, and the age has been increased from 15 to 17. Valieva came from Eteri Tutberidze's school, all ice skaters understand what kind of training she provides.

I can see it.

I think it has been noticeable for the skating and there must be a lot of very controlled eating to get to that point. I suspect there is still an ethereal, thin type that is popular with the judges- some will fit that naturally but not everyone. In contrast, I think it is striking that gymnastics has moved towards a more muscly physique.

World class athletes bodies are generally conditioned for the sport they do.

If being muscly, skinny, tall, short is an advantage they will generally be that, and that because being the best in the sport requires that, rather than being a particular build for asthetic reasons.

There aren't too many sports where carrying extra weight in fat is an advantage, and the way female skaters are lifted these days and fly through the air I can imagine extra fat doesn't really do the partnership any favours at all. Not sure about solo.

I mean, it doesn't get much more high pressure than the Olympics in any sport really. This is why they now have a minimum age limit for the ice skating.

Boobs do definitely get in the way when doing the big jumps!

so stressful to go through. Hope your daughter makes a swift recovery. I have a skater and am now worried. Is this specific to ice skating?

Yes, I do know that really. Forgive my sarcasm.

Actually, tonight i saw the pairs and i thought they all.looked an ok weight, which just makes me feel even more that it was the single men who looked anorexic. The men in the pairs skating event didnt look as thin as the single.mens event.....to my eye anyway.

The aesthetic sports have long put pressure on the thin ideal. It isn’t just the aesthetic sports; runners, horse jockeys - any sport where being a lighter build is perceived as an advantage. It can be up to a certain point and it’s an extremely fine balance before descent into relative energy deficiency in sport - REDS - formerly known as the female athlete’s triad, with possible short and long term negative impact on health.

That said, any athlete who trains to an elite level will likely have low body fat. A thinner, lighter build can be advantageous for doing larger jumps but you also need the muscular strength (legs, core and arms). Similar to a well conditioned dancer, light but incredibly strong and also built for endurance, similar to a long distance runner (they too tend to be built on the lighter side than sprinters). With men and pre-pubescent females, thinner/narrower hips help with the rotations. At the end of the day, a young athlete should have a good support team (coaches, family, friends) who are aware of the pitfalls of aesthetic sports and are there to encourage a strong and healthy body. Sadly, that’s not always the case - peer pressure both through sport and school, where strong legs may be said to be fat or large, or even misguided advice from parents and coaches.

The harsh reality is that if an athlete wants to have any hope at longevity, they need to be strong and healthy, eating well, resting and sleeping well to enable recovery and growth. Thankfully, especially with ease of access to information, it is a lot easier to educate yourself if it is truly your passion. There is a lot more information on RED-S, overtraining, fuelling a body to work etc.

Doesn't the camera add 10 pounds? Or whatever the trope is. I do think we have lost sight of what a healthy body is lately, we have become tolerant of obesity. I say that as a formerly obese still overweight person. When the athletes are standing next to ordinary people, the impression is more strength and a kind of glossiness than thinness in my view.

Yes, DH and I said exactly this last night.

Some of the single men looked dangerously thin, and it was very noticeable that the pairs men had healthy, athletic builds in comparison. I suppose they maybe need more muscle to be throwing their partners around and holding them up.

Did you see the Japanese pair last night, the girl was so small but the way she was being flung about, you can see why

I didnt think the male single skaters were too thin, OH did, but I said look at their necks, really wide, full of muscle.

I watched it last night and thought they all had beautiful strong bodies.