“Hottest Olympic Athletes”, “Most Attractive Olympic Sports” or “Prettiest Olympians” are search phrases thirsty Americans might be Googling this July. According to a recent survey from DatingAdvice, 1 in 10 Americans will be watching the 2024 Paris games simply for its athletic eye candy. Unsurprisingly, men are also twice as likely than women to watch specific sports due to their attractive athletes. These specific sports include gymnastics, beach volleyball, track & field, soccer and swimming—the Olympic categories that Americans believe have the most attractive athletes, according to the survey.
It’s no secret that female Olympians have been sexualized for years, pressured to wear low-rise bikinis, leotards and skirts that flaunt bubble butts, flat stomachs and toned legs. While many professional athletes have taken a stand against the traditions of revealing uniforms, the policing of “fit” and “attractive” female Olympians still exists.
Beauty goes beyond clothes, and for the Olympics, embracing the bodies of all female athletes, regardless of attire, is still needed. A quick search of the “prettiest Olympians” not only offers cringey websites that objectify women’s bodies, but websites that exclusively list and picture thin or white women as the face of beauty at the Olympics.
Interestingly, search engine results are saturated with track & field, gymnastics and beach volleyball players, whose uniforms are more revealing than other sports. One article from Ranker asks viewers to vote on the Olympic sport with the “hottest” athletes, with the top votes going to thin, white women in track & field positions. Additionally, the photos zoom-in on their butts.
While female Olympic athletes are standing up against the status quo of revealing Olympic attire and supporting the autonomy to choose whether to wear skirts, shorts or one-piece sets, the words “hot” and “fit” have become so synonymous that athletes who aren’t seen as “fit” are also seen as “unattractive” and not ideal for brand sponsorships.
But, what does “fit” look like, anyway?
To help answer this question, here we’d like to introduce you to six killer, rock star Olympic baddies that show a different side to what we imagine fit, beautiful and powerful athletes to look like.
Li Wenwen
Female weightlifters are a force to be reckoned with; not only are they incredibly strong, but they also represent another face of femininity and what it means to be a “fit” woman. Many weightlifters are heavy-set and plus-size with bigger arms and surprise… bellies!
Chinese weightlifting prodigy Li Wenwen made Olympic history at the 2020 Tokyo Games at just 21 years of age, breaking the record of weight lifted for the snatch and clean and jerk. Though she rocked the Olympics lifting 396 pounds, her record is 412!
In a world where bulging muscles and men with chiseled abs are the face of weightlifting pros, Wen Wen is changing the sport as a bigger Asian woman.
Heather Erickson
The Paralympics is the underrated counterpart to the Olympics, showcasing some kickass athletes that have different levels of mobility than those in the Olympics. Some athletes may not be able to stand for their sport, having amputated limbs, muscle conditions or paralysis.
Sitting volleyball is one of the most difficult and intense Paralympic sports. It’s exactly what it sounds like—volleyball, just without standing. Teams compete moving on the ground, dependent on upper body strength to navigate the court. A silver medalist from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games as well as a gold medalist from the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games, Heather Erickson is an outside hitter with powerhouse spikes.
A member of the U.S. women’s Paralympic volleyball team, Erickson had part of her right leg amputated at the age of eight due to a bone condition that prevented her leg from properly developing. Not only has Erickson single-handedly scored over 20 points in one match (each ending at 25 points), she’s back for her fifth Paralympics this year, ready to win another gold.
Emily Campbell
Great Britain’s also got some Olympic weightlifters to be reckoned with. A self-described “big girl” with a “big heart”, Emily Campbell is the first British woman to place in weightlifting at the Olympics, taking home silver in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Campbell can lift a whopping 350+ pounds and broke weightlifting records at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, otherwise known as the Olympics for former and current territories under British rule.
“I am a big girl, but I am still good-looking,” Campbell once said on the podcast Reign with Josh Smith.
Guo Lingling
Chinese powerlifter Guo Lingling is another 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games gold medalist who is also a world record holder, lifting 235+ pounds with just her upper body strength. Powerlifting, unlike weightlifting, focuses on lifting as much as possible for repeated sets, whereas weightlifting focuses on lifting as much as possible in one set. Powerlifting prioritizes endurance over strength.
GUO Lingling of #CHN breaks the #Powerlifting world record in the Women's -41kg category with a 109kg lift💪#UnitedByEmotion | #Paralympics | #Tokyo2020
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) August 26, 2021
Lingling, who uses a wheelchair, continues to challenge herself by breaking her own records again and again! After breaking her world record of 242 pounds in 2017, she heightened it to 251 pounds in 2018 and eventually, 260 in 2019. Maybe self-competition is the healthiest competition!
Jeon Min-jae
At the age of five, South Korean Paralympian Jeon Min-jae was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, though this certainly did not deter her from winning a gold medal at the 2012 London Games. Winning silver in both the 100 and 200m sprints, Min-jae is also the first South Korean to win a medal at the Asian Paralympic Games.
Her go-getter attitude has earned her the nickname “the smile racer”, as she is always seen grinning wide at every competition. Word on the street is that Min-jae will complete her professional career at this year’s Paris games.
Raven Saunders
Also known as the “Hulk”, U.S. Olympic shot-putter Raven Saunders took home a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, sporting green and purple hair to reference the Marvel superhero. According to the World Athletics Organization, Olympic female shot-putters hurl a nearly nine-pound ball, which is far heavier than it seems, especially when you’re throwing it over 60 feet like Saunders did.
Saunders has been very open about wanting to see more representation of heavier, masculine, darker-skinned, queer Black women in professional athletics, as this lack of diversity often isolated her from feeling important as an athlete growing up. Along with her radical and body-positive confidence, Saunders is candid about her mental health journey and depression following the 2016 Rio Games.
“Track and field has literally mirrored my life’s journey. I wasn’t someone that was looked at or cared about—I was gay, Black, chunky. I didn’t fit the mold of people that would be seen as important. But I looked at it like, if I was going to be a shot putter, I was going to be the best, and the world was going to know that. I’m gonna find my way, and y’all are gonna make some room for this wide load right here, coming through,” she said in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
What makes each woman an Olympic badass extends beyond her medals. They are redefining the face of athletics, creating spaces for bigger bodies, women of color and women who have disabilities. Fit and athletic bodies have different mobility levels and femininity is not limited to long ponytails and flat stomachs.
Olympic role models come in all weights, ethnic backgrounds, abilities and styles, and it’s time to celebrate this diversity.
What's Your Reaction?
