Some Really Strong Women

It's early evening here in Indianapolis and I'm watching Women's Weightlifting on MSNBC, a discipline apparently known as the "clean and jerk."  To say that this isn't one of the glamour events of the Olympics is an understatement. This one of those sports that gets pretty much zero coverage in the 3 years and 50 weeks between Olympiads, and I certainly know nothing about it. It may be a bigger deal in other countries; as I'm watching I notice that there are no American women competing, or at least not in the top 10 spots that are listed on the screen.  

There's another factor that may affect the way this sport is covered, at least in the U.S., and it has to do with the competitors themselves.They're not glamorous. They're not wearing skin-tight leotards like the gymnasts or bikini bottoms and tight T-shirts like the beach volleyball players.  To be blunt, they're not pretty, at least not by the standards of American pop-culture, and in terms of media coverage in America, "pretty is what it's about." They are, however, world-class athletes and I'm glad their event is being shown even if it is outside the main limelight.  As I'm watching, the competitor from Kazakhstan takes the gold, Russia takes silver and Canada takes the bronze.  Congratulations, everyone!