Mangold proud to be heaviest woman at the Olympics

KARACHI: American weightlifter Holley Mangold weighed 346 pounds (157 kilograms) claimed
that she is proud of being the heaviest woman at the London Olympics.

Mangold, 22, competed in the women’s 75 kilogram-plus division.

She is among various women athletes whose body size and image is frequently questioned rather than the talent and fitness.

At the 2012 Olympics, a list of top female athletes have hit back at critics who called them fat including British heptathlon Champion Jessica Ennis, Australian swimmer Liesel Jones, and the Brazilian women’s soccer team.

For Mangold, her weight is something to be proud of.

Her twitter profile has the tagline “Loving life and living big!”

“Between my team mate (Sarah Robles) and I, I think we both showed you can be athletic at
any size,” Mangold said.

“I’m not saying everyone is an athlete but I am saying an athlete can come in any size,” she
said.

Mangold suffered a wrist injury three weeks ago, came 10th in a field of 14 on Sunday.

The 2012 Olympics have been hailed as the “Women’s Games.”

The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) Chief Executive Sue Tibballs said their
research found negative body image was consistently cited as a barrier for girls
participating in exercise as popular culture gave out the message it was more important to
be thin than fit.