One was called a pig. Another was dubbed as a whale.
Fat-shaming has spilled over to the Olympic arena again as mean body scrutineers picked their victims from among the thousands of athletes with fit-as-hell physiques congregating in Rio for ultimate sportsmanship.
Ignoring her gymnastic accomplishments, critics of Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno have tweeted disparaging remarks, calling her “fat” after the former world championship finalist completed routines on the bars, floor, balance beam and vault on Sunday (Aug 7).
One of them tweeted: “The pig was already eliminated.”
Another mean observer commented that she has the “body of two gymnasts together”, adding that she should have gone on diet before going to Rio.
People are body-shaming Mexican Olympic gymnast Alexa Moreno, but they can’t even do a flip on a beam or reach for the TV remote.
— Sarah A. Harvard (@amyharvard_) August 9, 2016
I’d love to see anyone body-shaming Alexa Moreno do that badass floor routine she pulled off. She’s a tremendous athlete and cute as can be.
— Calli (@CalliFugate) August 9, 2016
Also targeted by body shamers is Robel Habte, a 24-year-old Ethiopian swimmer, who became an Internet sensation for the wrong reasons. After coming in last in the 100m freestyle heats, he was unkindly called “Robel the whale” because of his paunchy tummy.
Hurt by some of the remarks, the Olympic debutant told the Daily Mail that he had put on 40kg after a car accident sidelined him for two months.
He tried to lose the weight in the run up to Rio, but failed to shake it off.
Habte, who had stopped reading the criticisms on his Facebook page and Twitter, said: “It has been difficult. Too difficult, I don’t know how I feel, but many things. Some of the things people have said or written are not nice.
“I am a nice person, I would not say these things about others. They have used dirty language against me and called me fat and a big man and a whale.”
He shot back at the critics: ‘I know my body is fat, but I will lose the weight and when I go to Canada for the World Championships…I will show them.”
Criticising some Olympians for their unathletic form isn’t new as some so-called overweight participants were subject to cruel inspection in past games. Fortunately, many people have come to their defence.
Read also: Fat? We’re fit, say women athletes
One netizen who posted a mean picture of a cartoon pig shaming Moreno on Sunday (Aug 7) has since deleted his tweet, apparently succumbing to the pressure of her supporters. They felt that she deserves praise for her effort as artistic gymnastics is not the traditional forte of Mexico.
One of them highlighted the hypocrisy of some Mexicans who idolize drug dealers but don’t have the same respect for Moreno, who has put in a lot of effort into training for the sport.
Even Habte deserves a pat on the back as Ethiopia is not a swimmers’ country and he managed to qualify for Rio even though he has never trained in an Olympic-sized pool.
chenj@sph.com.sg
AFP, Reuters, The Straits Times
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