Milos Raonic of Thornhill, | Forum
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Aug 13 '18
In July and August, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on body image. Cheap Miami Marlins Jerseys .?When I think of the years it took for me to accept my body as a vehicle both artistic and revolutionary, I remember Surya Bonaly.I first saw her compete watching the 1992 Winter Olympics on television. With her electric eyeliner and sequined leotard, she was the frozen Grace Jones of dreams.?In Surya, I saw a representation of my own figure, which was described as too physical, too defiant, too sensual during my years of training as a dancer.Similar to me, Bonalys figure did not fit the contours and fragility of the ice princess; she was ridiculed by the world of figure skating -- often more for her physicality than her immense talent as an athlete. Some in the figure skating world pegged her as a rebel. Even enthusiasts who described her performances as wonderful and spectacular mentioned her excellence with the caveat that she didnt look like the typical ice princess.Of course, ice princess was just shorthand for the fact Bonaly possessed some of the stereotypical markers of a black womans body. She had a short, muscular stature with thick thighs and legs. She had dark skin of unmistakably African origins.In order to capitalize on the attention put upon Bonalys physical contrast with the pale ice princess aesthetic, and to bolster publicity, the French skating federation spread rumors about her heritage: that Bonaly was found off the coast of Madagascar as an infant, rescued from a coconut-strewn beach, the exotic juxtaposition of the jungle brought to the ice. The language that surrounds the legacy of Surya Bonaly is dangerous. The words do more to uphold long-standing biases against strength, independence and femininity than to further the integrity of competition.Bonalys dynamism transformed the landscape of contemporary figure skating. By the age of 22, Bonaly had already won five consecutive European Figure Skating Championship titles. She was the undisputed French champion for nine years. In a sport with little innovation, Bonaly trademarked the one-foot backflip, a move attributed to no other competitive skater. She completed her career as a three-time world silver medalist and five-time European champion.Reminiscent of the criticism women experience in the everyday world, the notion that a sport dominated by powerful women requires its participants to conform to a version of femininity that complies with stringent cultural normativity comes as no surprise. However, this should not be the burden of an athlete (or any person, for that matter) -- to fit the talents and triumphs of an extraordinary body into one narrowly defined box.I must have been about 16 when my mother took my sister and me to see Champions on Ice. Surya Bonaly performed, fresh off her final Olympic run in Nagano, Japan, the place where, still recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, she debuted her signature backflip at the risk of disqualification. In Champions on Ice, her routine was not flawless. She fell while trying to complete a triple axel but finished smiling and waving with all the charm of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. The tenaciousness of Surya Bonaly makes her more of a champion than all of her titles combined.For the girl I was back then -- still trying to starve and destruct myself to fit in the status quo -- she will always be an icon. Ferocity in sequins, Bonaly performed one death-defying backflip after the other, both on and off the ice.Shayla Lawson is the author of three poetry collections: A Speed Education in Human Being (Sawyer House Press, 2013), PANTONE (MIEL Books, 2016), and the forthcoming I Think Im Ready to See Frank Ocean (Saturnalia Books, 2018). She is a member of the Affrilachian Poets. Cheap Kansas City Royals Jerseys . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Cheap Washington Nationals Jerseys .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament.http:///...ston-red-sox-jerseys . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing.LONDON -- Canadas Eugenie Bouchard earned one of the biggest wins of her career Wednesday by upsetting No. 12 seed Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-3 in second-round play at Wimbledon. Bouchard needed 62 minutes to complete the victory and advance to the third round of a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career. The match was moved to Centre Court from an outside court on short notice after second-seeded Victoria Azarenka withdrew with an injury. "We only heard about the court change 15 minutes before the match," said Bouchard. "I was actually quite excited. It was crazy to play in front of a big crowd like this. Im really happy. I was focusing on returns and neutralizing her first serve and I think I did that very well." In mens second-round play, 20th-ranked Russian Mikhail Youzhny defeated Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-4 in a match that took almost four hours. Already leading 5-3 in the first set, Bouchard took 12 of 13 points to close that set and go up a break in the second. The 2012 Wimbledon junior champ sealed the victory when she broke Ivanovics serve on the second match point. "I think any day I can beat anyone. Its just about playing the way I know I can play," Bouchard said. "Today I was able to stay with her and take my chances when I could. Anything can happen in a match. "I just tried to work on a few things -- trying to be aggressive during the point, neutralize her serve. She served well today, so that was a bit tough for me. I tried to play my game." In eight previous Wimbledon appearances, Ivanovic -- a former world No. 1 -- had failed to reach the third round only once. Bouchard, from Montreal, currently holds the No. 66 position in the world rankings. Ivanovic admitted she was outplayed. "Definitely (Bouchard) played a very good match today," Ivanovic said. "It was the first time I actually saw her play, so it was obviously a little bit tough to get used to. "She was tracking the ball really well, serving well. I thought maybe the end of the match she would get tight, but she was really strong the whole wway through. Cheap MLB Jerseys. "She has a very bright future. She has a very strong game for such a young girl." Bouchard finished with 14 winners and 11 unforced errors against the 2008 French Open champion. "Im happy to be playing well again," she said. "After winning the juniors, Wimbledon feels like my second home." Bouchards next opponent will be Spains Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Croatias Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Bouchard, 19, improved to 21-14 on the season with the victory. She has posted some other big wins this year, including a third-round victory over U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur last April at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C. Pospisil was up 4-2 in the fifth set and looked like he might join Bouchard in the third round, but the experienced Youzhny won the next four games to advance. The momentum shift came in the eighth game, when Youzhny converted triple-break point to tie the set at 4-4. "It was a tough loss, any loss in a Grand Slam is a tough loss," Pospisil said. "Being up a break in the fifth set, which happened to me in the last two Grand Slams. "Its tough to close it out, especially if youre playing a top-20 guy whos so experienced. Hes ranked where he is because of these kind of wins, hes really good at finding ways to win." Pospisils serve had been his strength prior to that game. He finished the match with 26 aces. "I was definitely trying to do the same things but the big thing that made the difference was the lack of first serves when I was up a break in the fifth," Pospisil said. "Its tough, because theyre going to raise their game when theyre down a break in the fifth. Hes obviously extremely tough and I cant give him two games with mostly second serves." Later Wednesday, sixth-seeded Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden defeated Mikhail Elgin of Russia and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (9), 7-6 in their opening mens doubles match. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., and Jesse Levine of Ottawa won their first-round matches earlier this week. Cheap MLB Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping cheap nfl jerseys Cheap Jerseys USA China Jerseys Cheap NFL Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys For Sale Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys ' ' '
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