Noticing the different body types of female Olympians

I have been watching (well, half watching, while doing other things) some of the Olympics, and I am struck by how vastly different the women's bodies are.  Even if you eliminate the gymnasts who are quite tiny, and the female weightlifters who are quite large and square (one of them -- Holley Mangold (who is over 320 pounds) -- is from my relatively small suburb, BTW!), there is a wide variety of body types and all of them are women who are in GREAT physical condition. 

Clearly, they all have great muscle tone and strength. Some of them have very long, lean bodies with extremely little fat (e.g., the cyclists).  Others have much more substance and have a softer appearance (e.g., the regular volleyball team).  Most are somewhere in between (e.g., divers).

As someone who still sometimes struggles (although it is much better than it used to be) with not having a certain body type, it is very reassuring to see the variety of bodies that these women have.  Clearly not everyone can be a gymnast-type, but I wonder if the volleyball players wish they had bodies like the cyclists or runners have.  My guess would be no... that they embraced the bodies they were given and worked hard to make the most of the bodies God (or nature, if your prefer) gave them.

Lora

 and most have NICE BUTTS! 

Dunno about the cyclists butts as the padding in the shorts hides them.

What I think is amazing is that if you look at your avgerage female triathlete while they are very lean they typically seem to lose the feminine look like some of the gymnasts do, but Gwen Jorgensen has to be about the Hottest female professional triathlete I have seen.

I've noticed the similarities within the different sports as well.  Like distance runners have leaner bodies with less fat and leaner muscle.  Speed/short distance runners have thicker bodies with more muscle.  Swimmers have little body fat and a well defined upper body... etc...

So despite what bodies they were born with, I notice that they overcome that and realize that training really is key.  Then they start to take on the great physique that is more common in their sport... it shows that you really can do anything if you just keep trying.

 Universally, I'm in awe of ALL their muscles!
I think I saw Holley Mangold on an episode of True Life on MTV - isn't her brother a pro NFL player?

Yes, I saw just part of that show.  Holley's brother Nick (an Ohio State alumnus) plays for the Jets.  Holley actually played on her High School football team!  First (and, so far, last) girl to do so.

Lora

I too was amazed at all the differences.  And don't you think the gymnasts look healthier than back 20 or so years ago?  They were always tiny and somewhat emaciated looking...now they just look healthy, not too thin, with good muscle tone.

Yes, the gymnasts do look much better.  Some were never emaciated looking (Mary Lou Retton) but many (especially those from the old Eastern European countries) looked like a strong wind would knock them over.

Lora

 
 
 

Awesome.  It's a shame, though, that they did not keep the scale consistent among all of the photographs to really show the differences (e.g., Tara Lipinksy looks shorter than the runner next to her who is actually shorter than Tara).

Lora

You know if Ping Pong and Badmiton, Curling and Dressage can be olympic sports I think Wet Tshirt contests and Beer Pong should be as well.  If Beer Pong would have been a sport then I would have had the perfect body in my former life.

Curling seriously??  Sliding rocks across ice?  This had to have been invented by Drunk guys.