Posted on 08/02/2012 6:32:53 AM PDT by Paladins Prayer
It’s difficult to say if the greatest drama of the 2012 Olympics has occurred inside or outside the athletic arena, but it’s hard for anything to compare to the controversy that recently surrounded 16-year-old Chinese swim sensation Ye Shiwen. The story started on Saturday when Ye shattered the women’s world record in the 400-meter Individual Medley in a time of 4:28.43, beating the old mark by more than a second.
If a second constitutes a “shattered” record—and it does at that high level—you can only imagine what a 14 or 23-second difference is: it’s a vast ocean away. So it should surprise no one that those also happen to be the number of seconds Ye was slower than, respectively, the last finisher in the men’s 400m IM, and its winner, Ryan Lochte.
But you wouldn’t know it from the reportage, which, fueled by Ye’s anomalous final leg of her race, seemed content to rank race times like bowling scores. For instance, the first part of a Daily Mail headline read, “Ryan Lochte may be speedy…but this 16-year-old Chinese girl is even quicker!”
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
And it’s effective. When working with kids years ago in athletics, I encountered an 11-year-old boy who was under the assumption that the women’s mile record should be faster than the men’s. If people are raised with a grasp of reality like that, how can they possibly figure out what social codes, policies or politicians to support?
I remember in my youth when I got into some competitive sports, I was surprised to find such a gap in mens and womens track event times.
It had always been my experience that the girls ran much faster than me. Especially after the first 60 yards or so.
Well, you must have been a poor athlete, to be frank. The fastest kids in my elementary school were always boys (I was one of them). And I was never under the impression that girls were faster.
The only boys who were slower than girls were the fat kids or the ridiculously poor athletes. This isn’t to say that there’s anything wrong with being a poor athlete. We don’t choose our talents. But c’mon, what normal boy didn’t know that men were better at sports?
What occurs to me is that maybe you’re younger than I am and are a victim of the silly girl-power portrayals in the media. May I ask your age?
Dude... it was a joke.
Oh bull, article is just nonsense..author is trying to make big deal out of nothing.
Okay, my mistake. I’ll bonk myself on the head.
And the hen-pecked American male representative weighs in.
It’s the same reason why we see unrealistically powerful female characters who outshine men on TV, specious science reporting that glorifies women and diminishes men, and the replacement of male figures in history books with women of dubious accomplishment: it’s part of the effort to portray women as the same as men and, when possible and beneficial, as superior.
Of the many frauds exposed, this social engineering feat is the most egregious, id est, women are intrinsically superior to men in all ways physical, mental, and practical. Watching a 200lb. woman try to dominate a 150lb. collegiate wrestler is risible enough (the match is over in seconds,) but to be repeatably slapped with the scene, in movies and t.v., of a 95lb. woman kicking the crap out of a 250lb. brute is nauseating.
Just for grins, imagine a 95lb. man trying to physically best a 250lb. male Mixed Martial Artist.
The castrating of the American male continues at an accelerated pace.
I ran cross country and track and numerous girls were faster than the guys...very common. Many girls from other schools ran faster times than the guys in CC-girls and guys ran the same time-I was passed numerous times by girls and I was far from slow. Happened all the time.
I work out 7 days per week, weights and cardio -on average 2- 2.5 hours per day, mid 20's and top physical shape and my girl friend is faster than me and she has some years on me via age. Ran a 8k earlier in the year and I kept up with her for the first several miles and then she looked at me, nodded her head and said "see you at the finish"..I did not feel "emasculated". Some of the very best bicyclist in the world are mid to late 30's women.
But c’mon, what normal boy didn’t know that men were better at sports?,
Maybe because guys have more opportunities and more guys go out for sports. I will give you that men are more stronger and generally faster but I have seen incredible women athletes in just about every sport.
What occurs to me is that maybe you’re younger than I am and are a victim of the silly girl-power portrayals in the media.
What's wrong, some girl best you?? Why the hate on "girl power"? I personally love strong, ambitious women.
Hardly.... You sound like a like a man who has dysfunctional relationships with women.
Yeah, I agree it does not make sense and is not realistic but just as bad was the 50's movie portrayal of women who at the slightest sign of danger would put her hand across her face, scream and faint..I find that just as nauseating.
“Ran a 8k earlier in the year and I kept up with her for the first several miles and then she looked at me, nodded her head and said “see you at the finish”
Why then do I doubt that you are in ‘top physical shape?’
The Chinese either bought off the doping tests, or they found a new way to cheat. Sadly, this is Chinese culture. Lie, cheat, steal, add poisons to products, etc etc etc... anything to look good for a moment to the higher-ups... and the Olympic Committee in China is almost as influential as the Central Party itself (at least in the lives of elite athletes)
(And I say this as a Sinophile... I LOVE China, but this is egregious cheating, right in front of our eyes, and nobody seems to be noticing. Kudos to the American trainer who is brave enough to call a cheat out loud.)
Of course you love “strong, ambitious women.” That’s an effect of the leftist conditioning.
By the way, if you had girls who were running faster than the boys in CC in high school, it just means that those boys weren’t very good. As the author points out, boys’ high school records are better than women’s world records. Or did you not know this?
Do you actually call yourself a conservative? Huffpo might be a better place for you.
As a fellow lifter and cardio enthusiast, I am intrigued on your insight as to the comparisons between the running prowess of men and women who spend equal time and effort at the endeavor, sans any weight training that interferes with running endurance.
I posit that although there are marvelous, but not incredible, women athletes, the gist of the Duke article is valid. In their respective fields of physical expertise, men are not bested by women. (Yes, there are the occasional freaks of nature, but I only refer to those exceptional XX/XY humans.)
Maybe because my GF is extremely athletic and incredibly fast?? She does marathons, triathlons and CrossFit events on a regular basis. Zero body fat.
I run with her but more interested in lifting.
Yep, that was egregious. I also believe that women are fully capable of defending themselves and extricating themselves from danger, but usually in ingenious and practical ways.
Then I surmise that your cardio conditioning is subpar.
I’m a distance runner myself. If you’re lifting, that won’t help you run.
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