The hotly contested Olympic medal table of sexism

If sexism were an Olympic sport, the competition would be very tough indeed. Over the past two weeks, hopefuls from across the media have battled it out against some of the greatest in the world. Many have been in training for years. For others, it was their first foray into the competition. Not everybody can go home with a medal, but as the games draw to a close, here’s a roundup of the most decorated contenders …

Most tired gender stereotype

Bronze medal

Al Trautwig, who speculated that Dutch gymnast Sanne Wevers might be writing a “dear diary” entry when she was seen jotting something down after completing her routine – she was in fact working out her scores.

Silver medal

The BBC commentator who described a women’s Olympic judo match as a “catfight”.

Gold medal

Jim Watson, who observed the USA women’s gymnastics team conferring on the sidelines and mused: “they might as well be standing around at the mall”.

Most irrelevant commentary on women’s appearance

Bronze medal

The Daily Mail’s ‘best dressed’ list”, comparing the outfits of female sports reporters.

Silver medal

Jointly awarded to every outraged and gleeful article about BBC commentator Helen Skelton’s legs.

Gold medal

The detailed commentary setting female gymnasts up against one another and reducing them entirely to their leotards, including references to how “dainty” or “ultra-feminine” they were and even comparing them to Disney fairies. Criticisms included the accusation that one gymnast “turned heads for all the wrong reasons” and even that one leotard didn’t “complement” the gymnast’s skin tone.

Most insulting attribution of a female athlete’s medal to her husband

Silver medal

The Chicago Tribune, for its Twitter headline:

Gold medal

Commentator Dan Hicks, who was reporting on the women’s 400-metre individual medley in swimming when Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu took the gold medal and beat the existing world record by over two seconds. As the camera panned over to her husband and coach in the stands, Hicks told viewers: “And there’s the man responsible.”

Most blatant prioritising of men’s achievements over women’s

Silver medal

The headline that relegated Katie Ledecky’s record-breaking gold medal win to a small-print subtitle beneath news of Michael Phelps tying for silver in the 100m fly.

Gold medal

The dehumanising headline that failed even to name swimmer Simone Manuel after she won a gold medal in the 100m freestyle. Instead the tweeted headline ran: “Olympics: Michael Phelps shares historic night with African-American”.

Most enormous double standard

Silver medal

The reaction of outrage and abuse when US gymnast Gabby Douglas failed to put her hand over her heart during the national anthem, while Michael Phelps got off far more lightly for laughing on the podium during the anthem.

Gold medal

The TV-viewing public who were scandalised when they thought they caught the briefest glimpse of Helen Skelton’s underwear as she reported from the hot and humid aquatics centre… but later complained that Gary Lineker didn’t flash enough flesh when he presented Match of the Day in his underwear.

Most egregious all-round sexism

Bronze medal

Jointly awarded to all the commentators who contributed to the sexist bias in the language used about female Olympians. According to researchers at Cambridge University Press, while language like “fastest”, “strongest”, “biggest”, was commonly used to describe male athletes, female athletes attracted words like “married” and “unmarried”, as well as references to their age.

Silver medal

NBC executive John Miller, who responded to complaints about frequent ad-breaks and interruptions in the Olympic coverage by saying:

The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the games than men, and for the women, they’re less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. It’s sort of like the ultimate reality show and miniseries wrapped into one.”

Gold medal

The Fox News segment that saw two male commentators discuss female Olympians’ appearance. One said: “Why should I have to look at some chick’s zits?”

And, because we all need something to cheer for…

Best comeback to sexism

Bronze medal

NBC commentator Rowdy Gaines, who set people straight when they tried to compliment team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky by saying that she “swims like a man”: “She doesn’t swim like a man. She swims like Katy Ledecky.”

Silver medal

Tennis champion Andy Murray, who was congratulated for being the “first person ever to win two Olympic tennis gold medals” but quickly corrected reporter John Inverdale, saying: “I think Venus and Serena have won about four each.”

Gold medal

Simone Biles, who had the perfect comeback after commentators kept comparing her with great male athletes. After her outstanding performance, which saw her win five medals, Biles said:

I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I’m the first Simone Biles.”

Though these lucky winners go home with medals, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. Here’s hoping we don’t see any of these categories being contested in Tokyo in 2020.