Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva: “You cannot even imagine what an athlete feels from simple bile and the casually thrown “fatso” at her. Anorexia, bulimia, laxatives — all this happens to skaters because of fear, shame, guilt, and the terror of being kicked out or replaced.”
Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva about weight issues in sports and maintaining shape.
original source: MatchTV dd. 21st August 2024
Russian ice dancer, Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva, in her column for MatchTV, discuss the difficulty of maintaining shape and touches on weight issues in sports. Here’s a translation of her comment.
“In the previous article, I decided to touch on the topic of how difficult it is to be a woman in figure skating (Link to the previous article: “Once, I heard a phrase: “Lisa, look at yourself! Look, you’re fat! Look how your belly sticks out! It’s bigger than mine at 40!” And it’s just my uterus hurting, what can I do about it?” Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva on being a woman in professional sports). Professional sports are a brutal thing, quite a philosophical and incredible conclusion, right? I won’t surprise anyone with this today. Physical education heals, sports cripple. I promise that there will be positive articles on the Match TV website, but I know you appreciate my authorship for addressing important issues in figure skating and speaking about them as honestly as possible, given my status as an active athlete. But today’s material is indeed food for thought.
What’s the hardest part of a figure skater’s job? Daily training? Definitely. Early maturation, independence, lack of a real childhood. And why does it become increasingly difficult to “stay afloat” with age? Routine and form, absolutely right.
In a recent interview, Dmitri Aliev confessed that it’s getting harder for him to return to the necessary weight each time, and it’s more painful to watch the carefree youth enjoy sweet pastries and fast food. Many men after 25 find it increasingly difficult to maintain a lean figure. Compare three-time Olympic champion Scott Moir in 2010 and 2018 or Evgeni Plushenko in 2002 and 2014. Both were in perfect athletic shape at both times but at different ages. They matured and became stronger, thus heavier, and the workload hasn’t diminished, if not increased. And by your 30s, sorry, but any lack of sleep hits like a terrible hangover. For these reasons alone, I admire the adults who continue their careers.
But here’s the paradox. See, even now I publicly admire how great the boys are. I respect their hard work and sacrifices for professional sports and to entertain the audience. Because, from a financial standpoint — remember— it’s much less profitable to be an active athlete than to participate in a city-touring show in Russia. But what about the girls and their puberty? What does each skater go through from the ages of 15 to 20? You see where I’m going with this? Bullying and eating disorders. Here we are.
Every athlete undoubtedly experiences puberty. The problem is that for the last plus-minus five years, we’ve become accustomed to seeing skaters as little girls executing quadruple toe loops, lacking pronounced “female” characteristics. But due to early emotional maturity, she’s already a thoughtful experienced individual, not a child. Then, transformations happen. Suddenly, a child turns into a woman.
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Alexandra Trusova, Gracie Gold, Kamila Valieva, Alina Zagitova, Kaitlin Hawayek, Tessa Virtue, and many others. Carelessly, without thinking, just to feel superior to someone, people sometimes write things that cross all boundaries. Being discussed and receiving high attention is undoubtedly part of our job — we are media personalities, no doubt. But why, tell me, please, is a 17-18-year-old girl ready to be hated and bullied for her physical changes? Do you mind if I write about you and slam all those who hate you as well? You cannot even imagine what an athlete feels from simple bile and the casually thrown “fatso” at her. We’re used to having to be perfect, but right now, by nature of becoming women and exerting titanic efforts, we still can’t control it.
And do you know what the biggest problem and enormous fear is? No, no. Overcoming comments is the smallest and most easily resolved issue. Just stop reading, and that’s it. But what if your daily life consists of constant bullying, humiliation, and pressure?
Attention! Disclaimer: sports are not about body positivity. The “accept me as I am” approach doesn’t work here. In any sport, there are certain standards, and in figure skating, aesthetics also play a role. These are kind of mandatory sacrifices; if you don’t like it, don’t participate. Your joints will thank you. Training at a weight that is too heavy for your body and load is not just difficult, it’s downright dangerous.
But!
Is it really necessary to weigh a girl going through puberty in front of everyone in the group? To discuss how many kilograms she needs to lose? To call her fat, send her running wrapped in plastic foil while her partner skates on the ice alone or with other available girls right in front of her, and make her send reports on what she ate today? Yes, I’ve had many coaches throughout my career, and in the beginning, some of them would have been better off not being there. Of course, you only gain weight because you have no willpower, can’t bear it, and eat at night anyway. Anorexia, bulimia, laxatives — all this happens to skaters because of fear, shame, guilt, and the terror of being kicked out or replaced. And then they also nag about how one can be so thin, asking, “Can’t you eat properly!?”
The issue of weight and appearance became the catalyst for all scandals at home after a respected coach told my parents: “The girl will be fat in two years; I won’t train her.” It’s scientifically unproven that a person who has faced eating disorders can fully recover from obsessive thoughts. I underwent medication, in-patient, and psychological treatment. It so happened that acknowledging my problem and going into remission coincided with a lot of hate on the internet. It was only thanks to the support of my family and loved ones that this did not break me and did not prompt me to give everything up overnight. It is indeed difficult to live and work with this.
How to fight this and what to change so that figure skaters never fall into this trap? Support and understanding, it’s very important for an athlete during their maturing period. I write this article primarily so that people would treat us a bit less harshly, with more understanding. Imagine, athletes aren’t supposed to look like fashion model standards. They should be strong, healthy, especially mentally. But I urge young coaches, my peers by the way, who train future generations of athletes, to be most contemplative. Remember the unprofessional behavior you encountered — it’s not the norm. The concept “I suffered, so you will suffer too” is terrible. Only by drawing on personal experience and analyzing both own and others’ mistakes can we cultivate a healthier new generation that will love figure skating even more than we do.
A huge number of female athletes write to me asking for help and advice on how to cope with these problems and climb out of the pit. It’s a very difficult period for girls. Remember: no one is more valuable than you, and you don’t have a spare health in the drawer. And even if you face manipulations about feeling guilty for your physical changes, do not let it cloud your reason. And, of course, do not hesitate to reach out to specialists when you realize you can’t handle it on your own.
Your sporting Carrie Bradshaw.”
Related topics: Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva Egor Bazin
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