Olympics Swimmers Discuss Body Image

Olympic Swimmers Discuss Body Image: ‘It’s Very New Territory to Walk Around in a Swimsuit’

One of essentially the most tough issues about being a swimmer is that the physique is on show in a swimsuit.

This can result in uncomfortable moments, and even psychological well being considerations over physique picture.

Several Olympians mentioned this with Olympics.com.

Italy’s Federica Pellegrini was one of many nation’s most seen stars in any sport after profitable Olympic silver in 2004 at age 16, and had a protracted and profitable profession, claiming eight World Championships medals within the 200 freestyle, swimming into her 30s.

“I had a 20-year career in swimming, so I’ve basically been living in a swimsuit for every day of that,” she informed Olympics.com.

“Your body changes a lot from the age of 12 to your 30s, and everyone around you is watching you, especially if you are successful like I was lucky enough to be at such a young age. This period was really tough for me because all the media in Italy were focused on me at every moment and picked up when my body started changing. It was a time when I didn’t necessarily like what I saw in the mirror. So I had trouble in my early years being in swimsuits every day. It wasn’t easy.”

U.S. Olympic medalist Regan Smith, agreed, however mentioned it was a little bit simpler for her since she grew up in a swimsuit in social settings.

“I feel grateful that I grew up in a swimsuit. I had all my birthday parties growing up at my swim school. And so it was very normal for me to have all that skin exposed,” Smith informed Olympics.com. “But I completely sympathize. It’s very new territory to walk around in a swimsuit, and you are showing quite a bit of your body. I recommend focusing on things that make you feel really confident.”

It isn’t just a problem for ladies, both. Men’s swimmers are sporting small and tight fits that may also be uncomfortable.

“It’s about accepting yourself as you are,” Great Britain’s Ben Proud informed Olympics.com. “Body publicity impacts many swimmers, no matter their gender. Recently, we’ve seen lots of youthful swimmers going via tough instances. We have to discover a method the place individuals can swim and be aggressive, however in their very own method. We don’t need everybody to be the identical.

“We’ve got to ensure that people are feeling happy when they swim and are having fun. They’ve got to be who they want to.”

Read the full story here.