Greek pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi, a three-time Olympian, voiced a bold message for body positivity a few weeks ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Known for her fearless personality nearly as much as for her countless athletic achievements, Stefanidi lashed out at critics, specifically men, who were judging her for what she was having for dinner after having competed in the Greek Athletics Championships in the city of Volos.
In a lengthy Instagram post, the celebrated pole vaulter wondered what else she should achieve to spare her from “any clueless person” telling her what and how much to eat, which she described as a marker of “zero respect” to herself and her coach alike. At the same time, she expressed her support to any other male or female athletes that may have faced similar behaviors in their careers.
“I tried to explain how disrespectful it is to tell an adult female athlete how much to eat. No…Sorry. To a female athlete. No, sorry again. To a woman. No. To a person of any age or gender,” she added.
Body image a major issue for athletes in Greece
According to Stefanidi, body image is a major issue in athletics practice in Greece.
“In Greek athletics there is a big problem in the way we deal with the body image of an athlete. Because some coaches don’t know how to train their athletes, when the athlete doesn’t do well, it’s because of their weight,” she wrote.
“If this [reaction] is what I experience after all that I have achieved in the last 20 years, what does any teenage child experience? Or every woman or man, female or male athlete who doesn’t dare to speak up against anyone who offers their unsolicited opinion? I often think, how can I help these children? These people?” Stefanidi wondered.
Such critics “have destroyed the careers of many female and male athletes whose names we will never know,” she concluded.
Greek Olympians applaud Stefanidi’s remarks on body positivity
Stefanidi’s remark soon went viral, triggering responses from fellow Greek Olympians Pigi Devetzi and Emmanouil Karalis, among many others praising her for bringing up the issue.
Devetzi spoke of her own experience being bullied for her weight, while Karalis joked they should go grab a souvlaki meal together.
Commenting was also Zeta Douka, actress and founder of Anasa, a Greek NGO against eating disorders, who invited Stefanidi to discuss how they could work together.
“In the schools we visit with Anasa, most of the children involved in sports have coaches who push them to eat less, and abuse them verbally and psychologically, causing many of them to struggle with their mental health and some already having an eating disorder since elementary school,” Douka commented.
After winning silver at the European Championships in June, Katerina Stefanidi will be competing in her 4th Olympiad, in Paris next month.
The 34-year-old is widely regarded as the greatest female athlete in the history of Greek sports and also has the record of being the first pole vaulter to have won five European medals.
