Guardian displays a rare awareness of female biology

[RoyalCorgi]

A rather good article on why women are doing so well in endurance events:

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/jan/03/female-ultra-athletes-leading-field-women-less-ego

Contains these bold sentences:

"Until about the age of 10, girls and boys are, athletically speaking, the same. Top running speed is the same for boys and girls, as is top swimming speed. Then puberty happens and testosterone changes everything. By 14, boys have bigger hearts, stronger arms, bigger shoulders, longer limbs, greater muscle mass. More power, and more speed, for life."

And

"When it comes to speed, men will always be first across the line. No woman will outsprint Usain Bolt. No woman will hit the side of the pool ahead of Michael Phelps’s world records."

Guardian's sub-editors must have been dozing after too much Christmas pud when they let those through.

The author is a fantastic woman.

I was going to post this exact bit Corgi!

It’s amazing how clear they can be when it’s not to do with T.

I spotted that too.
That sentence "more power, more speed. For life."
And yet, and yet....

Yes, I was really struck by those words "For life". It's almost as if the author is hammering home the point. I wonder if she's GC and attempting to smuggle in some biological reality under the noses of the Graun's trans police?

Really good article. Interesting. And for once I wasn’t being distracted by the Guardian’s agenda showing. Like having a glass of cool water.

I don’t think it’s accidental either - there must be lots of other sports scientists out there but Ross has stuck his head over the parapet before

This article reminds me why I used to read the Guardian online. I gave up because too much was too irritating, lecturing and woke.

I hope This is a sign that the old Guardian is on its way back.

testosterone changes everything. By 14, boys have bigger hearts, stronger arms, bigger shoulders, longer limbs, greater muscle mass. More power, and more speed, for life.

Testosterone changes everything.
For life.
Life.

This cannot be stressed and repeated enough in the fight to keep women’s sport exclusive to women.

Wonderful!

It's interesting to note the average lung capacity for men and women begins to separate from around age 12.

Some teen boys have a larger lung capacity than an adult woman at her peak, around 30-35.

(Google peak flow charts)

Yep I put this article on my FB feed and quoted that exact part - "for life"

It's a brilliant article about some amazing women

Shame they didn't allow comments under the article. And yes, a refreshing bit of unexpected honesty from that paper.

Yes, yes, yes! I read this article the other day and went round saying for life all day and from the Grauniad, no less! Fabulous article. Couldn’t believe they’d managed a whole article on women in sport and it remained resolutely focused on women throughout.

Love this article and the women’s stories. This is my sport, so chuffed.