Is Olympic Swimmer Leisel Jones Fat

Dad_of_3

This is a testament to society's obsession for stick-thin women. As a guy, I think loveliness comes in all shapes and sizes. I was appalled that this swimmer, who came in fifth in the breaststroke (this means she is the FIFTH BEST breaststroke swimmer IN THE WORLD, who has made four trips to the Olympics ( the only Aussie swimmer to do so) was being taken to task over non-stick-like figure. Read the articles here and tell us what you think:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/07/26/leisel-jones-fat-or-what-fit-looks
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/leave-leisel-jones-alone-says-giaan-rooney/story-fn9dheyx-1226434277862

Or is she really not training as hard and has let herself go?

What does fit look like?

victoria4321

She's fat for her sport. She would probably place higher if she had the dedication to keep her diet impeccable.

Olympic athletes don't just simply exercise. Their diets are on point in many cases. Some do eat crap in their off season though but when its training time they take their diet seriously.

chivalryder

lol

That article just goes to show how obsessed we are with image, and not about function. Ever seen Anna Meares? She's the world record holder for the 200m sprint in track cycling. She's not exactly a small girl!

Since when did watching the Olympics become about sex appeal, rather than watching athletes compete?

dad106

I don't think she's fat judging from the pictures I saw in the one article.

I also don't think it has anything to do with how she swims.. I mean, this is her 4th Olympics after all. Poor girl is prob. tired and wants a damn break from all the training and hoopla that comes with the Olympics.

stephvaile

compared to the olypian champion sharon davis then she is definately out of shape but the question is , is it effecting her performance

jjscholar

I do not think so...

However, I think it is because the world in general has confused thinness for fitness... Becoming anorexic is way too popular...

I am fighting the urge to become extremely thin...

dhakiyya

I'd guess she has about 20-24% body fat and a ton of muscle under that. That amount of body fat will not affect her performance but it's enough to cover up any muscle definition, depending on how her body stores fat, she seems to be storing it quite evenly all over. If she tries to force her body down to lower body fat levels, then that would involve calorie restriction that could affect her performance negatively, plus there's be a risk of losing lean body mass as she cuts, which even if it's slight may make a difference to her performance in world class competition. You can't train and compete like an Olympic athlete if you don't eat enough. Dieting to look more aesthetically pleasing is not necessarily compatible with better performance.

She's an athlete, she should be aiming for a body that performs best in her sport, which is what all other athletes do. There are many athletes, male and female, who are not ripped. Ripped = aesthetically pleasing, it does not necessarily mean peak performance in all sports. If she'd really "let herself go" then she would not be performing anywhere near as well as she did. She would not have even qualified.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

She looks like she's carrying more weight than other swimmers at that level. To me it would indicate a training issue. For example, when Ryan lochte was at his peak training back in April or may at the Charlotte ultra swim he was looking gaunt, they spend so many hours in the pool burning that it's impossible to keep up with the food requirement. They then rest gettin ready for the big meet by decreasing their yardage, they put on a little weight, but still not to the point off off season bf%s. so, yeah, to me it's not a body image issue, it's a training question, did she really train hard enough?

millyvanilli321

Obviously she has made it to the Olympics with that body so I say the media should just leave her well alone. I doubt anyone who makes these daft comments about her being "fat" hasn't competed in 4 Olympics and won medals! Just because she doesn't look like a supermodel doesn't mean she won't perform, which is what the Olympics are all about, not aesthetics. I just find it ridiculous that this athlete is being ridiculed and scrutinised because she doesn't look like other atheletes, how to her times compare? her technique? THAT's what matters, not her appearance.

Edit: oh, and no. she's not "fat". by ANY means.

misswager

I was talking about this yesterday, not that the female swimmers are 'fat', but are less defined when compared to the mens swimmers. Of course women hold fat sotres in different parts of our bodies when compared to men, but I found it interesting that a large proportion of the women seemed to be for lack of a better word 'flabby'.

Saying that muscle weighs more, the more fat you have the more you will float. Maybe it helps?

Either way well done Olympians of all shapes & sizes...

Women come in many shapes & sizes, big, and small.