Sports has become a main topic of interest in
many conversations over the past two weeks, due to the Olympics Games held in
Rio Brazil. Not only has this grabbed the viewers’ attention, but it’s also
captured the attention of many regarding their interest in specific sports and
how males are reported on more than females.
Two of the country’s best track runners that
are participating in the Olympics this year include Wayde van Niekerk and Caster
Semenya.
Wayde van Niekerk had the Olympic Stadium
cheering on Sunday night after his incredible 43.03 seconds run in the men's
400m final at the Rio Games.
In one of the world’s most phenomenal
performances ever seen, van Niekerk came from lane 8 to cross the line and
broke Michael Johnson’s 400m world record of 43.18 seconds, which had been
stood since August 1999. Grenada’s Kirani James followed second at 43.76 seconds
and America’s LaShawn Merritt came home third at 43.85 seconds.
At an interview with USA Today, van Niekerk
informed the reporters that he got some of his inspiration to run from Blade
Runner, Oscar Pistorius. He says that Pistorius “…inspired a generation to run, he
gave me a reason to want to run for my country.” Full report at http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/14/wayde-van-niekirk-lashawn-merritt-usa-track-and-field-mens-400-meters-final-results/88737134/
Caster Semenya
brought home gold in the women’s 800m race in 2009. On Wednesday Semenya
qualified for the women’s 800m semi- finals with a time of 1:59.31. She came in
as the 6th fastest runner in the heats, having Canada’s Melissa Bishop clocking
in at 1.58.38 taking the fastest position in the qualifiers.
Semenya
isn’t too focused one the time she clocks in but rather on the medal that she
receives. She tells Eyewitness News, “times
don’t matter in the championships; what matters is a gold, silver or a bronze
medal. So that’s the target, we’re not going to worry about times at the moment”
Link to report http://ewn.co.za/2016/08/17/Caster-Semenya-targeting-medals-not-records
Based
on the reports of both runners, it is said that most news articles in the
Olympics focus mainly on the events or performances of males rather than
females. Regardless of the success or accomplishments of female athletes the
males usually make the headlines. This doesn’t only come from male journalist/
reporters but females as well.
As
stated in The Guardian, The Sun’s sports journalist Vikki Orvice said at a
recent London Press Club event, “I thought when I started out in tabloids in
1995, there would be a trajectory of women starting to emerge in sports
writing, but it has not been the case at all. In fact, it has got worse ...
Women in sports writing peaked in 2000 ... The only females at the Sun are me
and two secretaries”. The article moves on to discuss that women are hardly
ever written about even when they have made record breaking headlines.
Link to article https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/aug/18/women-sport-rio-olympics-female-sports-journalists
As Semenya is yet to race at the Olympics on Friday, it is yet to be
seen if not only female reporters but reporters in general will make an effort
of reporting her race as often as van Niekerk’s was reported.
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