Sexism x 2? Jessica Ennis Hill's coach says she's the GOAT because she gave birth to a baby and D. Thompson didn't

The British media's tedious obsession with JEH's pregnancy has been quite extraordinary - she is virtually never name checked without the quite exceptional feat of her giving birth being mentioned. Young Reggie is almost as well known as her.

It's inevitably portrayed as if she's overcome a life threatening illness and succeeded against all the odds, something unique in the annals of sporting endeavour. Toni is not the only one who advances this facile view, it's regularly parroted on phone- ins and discussions that JEH's varied and genuine achievements are the greatest because 'she had a baby'.

There's never any context- the fact that any number of athletes in various sports have also achieved great things after giving birth, with many of them doing it much sooner, or even while pregnant. And it happens for very good physiological reasons - something that the East German 'abortion dopers' well understood. Whereas women athletes were once quite open about the benefit of pregnancy making them stronger, in the UK the condition seems to have been reduced to the level of an insuperable barrier that only true heroines like JEH can overcome. Sure, it's an achievement of sorts, but pregnancy does not mean 9 months+ without any training, and plenty of athletes return successfully from that kind of time off with conventional injuries. No, if JEH is the BritGoat, and I don't think she is, it's got nothing to do with Reggie.

Jess Ennis owes this man an apology.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jessica-ennis-hill-facing-calls-to-apologise-after-ched-evans-is-found-not-guilty-a7362026.html

Everyone says this generalized "plenty of women come back" but what women have come back after giving birth and have been better - ran faster times? Or what women have come back after giving birth and won an Olympic gold medal? Off hand I can't think of any track medalists in Rio from the US that have children (and I'm having trouble coming up with any moms that even qualified for Rio again from the US....) I'm sure there are but just thinking from 1500 thru marathon I don't believe any of them have had kids and not sure about any of the sprinters either. Either way I think it's an extremely small number.

Tom Tom wrote:

Everyone says this generalized "plenty of women come back" but what women have come back after giving birth and have been better - ran faster times? Or what women have come back after giving birth and won an Olympic gold medal? Off hand I can't think of any track medalists in Rio from the US that have children (and I'm having trouble coming up with any moms that even qualified for Rio again from the US....) I'm sure there are but just thinking from 1500 thru marathon I don't believe any of them have had kids and not sure about any of the sprinters either. Either way I think it's an extremely small number.

Not quite the specific point you queried but see this article by Paula Radcliffe who was back running 10 days after giving birth and went on to win NYC and the names she checks inc McColgan

'Whereas women athletes were once quite open about the benefit of pregnancy making them stronger,'

Name a current track world record holder who had a baby before her record.

Your view came into fashion about 40 years ago and is the one which is out of date.

For example take Dibaba or Paula Radciffe performances before and after a baby.

lotta problems in the world and rojo focuses on this one...

Radcliffe wasn't faster after her pregnancies. But the article mentions 3 women and goes back 25 years. I just don't see "plenty" of women coming back better than ever and at the top of their event like these boards suggest. Part of it may be that they wait to start having kids so they're already on the downslide of their career. At any rate I think that is a factor that should be noted when describing how good Ennis was as there aren't many that come back to win Olympic gold and in an event like the heptathlon where you have to train for so many different disciplines. Sexist or not it's just the truth. Is it sexist to say men can run faster because they have more testosterone.