British commentary called Pre chunky in the 72 final, where was the outrage then?

Not unusual for a functional alcoholic

D in the hole wrote:

People are allowed to make fun of men's looks because their entire self worth and self esteem isnt directly tied to it like women's.

If they actually wanted to help women and their poor self image, they would teach them some useful skills instead of attempting to subjectively change reality.

...he types from his mother's basement

As far as politeness is concerned, the woman who wrote the Miss Manners newspaper column back in the 80s once said a good rule of thumb is to only tease people about the qualities that they are proud of and fond of.

This can take a bit of discernment, but isn’t rocket science.

The fact that allie o would take it as a compliment to be called a beast, probably indicates she likes that about herself, that she is tough, that she is a fierce competitor.

Was steve prefontaine secretly fond of his chunkier size? If no, then you would not want to say it in conversation. Bringing up a sore topic to someone (under the guise of joke or whatever), is a dig — rude.

Having said that, a reporter or commentator is kinda worthless if they cannot point the harsher truths at play. If someone is running a bad race, say that. If someone’s form is falling apart, mention it. Reporting and commentating should not follow rules of social politeness.

If someone is not at race weight, it is fair game — not because it makes them look prepubescent (allie o at her thinner weight) or because it makes them look too fleshy for your aesthetic liking, but because a person too far above or below race weight, cannot perform as well.

Pre was shredded. He just had more muscle in his upper body than most distance runners. He looked like he did a lot of pushups, dips, pullups, etc. The commentator was probably just jealous of how much the ladies loved Pre.

Pre made the race. It is amazing to go back and watch this race and see how he bravely (if not recklessly) surges back. Maybe he never saw Stewart coming at the end. He sure as hell deserved a medal.

TheGoldenMonkey wrote:

Even Better wrote:

You should hear what Geoff Gowan said about Zola Budd in '85.

Is this just a tease, or will you be sharing?

It was a 3000m race. Budd led from the gun and was tracked by a Russian and East German. It was an extended drive to the finish, and an all-out sprint over the last 300-400m. With approx 180m to go, where still held on to the slightest lead, the announcer says,

"Can this tiny, frail-looking figure hold on?"

BTW, she won in 8:35 and broke Wendy Sly's national record.

It's best not to talk about anyone's body. Period. I've had plenty of male friends with eating disorders, one of which committed suicide. While comments like these aren't the specific cause, they are one more thing that just might be the final straw. And yes, men of LetsRun like to refer to women as sensitive snowflakes. Well, you'd be to if your entire existence since birth revolved around your appearance.

Pre could have been chunky but he definitely wasn't SOFT. That's why he didn't care.

He was post chunky.

I was in the stands that day. He played college tactics against runners who knew better and were at least as good.

At LEAST as good.

But you have to admire his spirit, if not his results.

Men in the old days could speak their mind. You could say the things that people need to hear, not what makes everyone feel good about themselves. Real feedback at one time was important.

oh yes let them speak their minds, say anything they want, that's more important than anything.

i think the issue with allie O was that it was repeatedly mentioned and harped on about, and playing with barbies is just a weird and offensive kind of comment.

she spoke out. so is that not allowed? cos you're saying you want people to speak their mind.

the 1970s were 40 years ago. things were different then.

probably was the same for women - if the commentator had said "she looks like she's gained some weight during her time off" or something like that, no one would've batted an eyelid.

I guess the NFL needs to get rid of the height and weight from leterally everywhere. Basketball, male and female, constantly talks about height. Could we mention a woman's height if she won the olympic high jump and was only 5' tall? What if a 200 pound woman won the marathon?

Are you lunatics seriously discussing whether calling Prefontaine "chunky" was an issue?

He was relatively big built for a distance runner. Solinsky and Andy Vernon fall into that category as well. How the hell is this offensive?

You're all insane.

Cue: calling people insane sends the wrong messages about mental health!

Are you saying that actual observations are okay. Saying Allie O is small is okay? Saying that Gwen is a giant is okay. I think is is but trying to understand if you think so. I hope Mike Jay is doing Pre this week and asks how Allie O can get over those hurdles at her height.