Argumentative Essay: Women's Unfit For Competition

523 Words2 Pages

The 2014 US Track and Field Championships was in for something. And so was the world of athletics, an area in which women have come a long way. Indeed, women have made their mark and gone for glory ever since they've set foot in athletics. But the truth remained, women are childbearers and athletes must plan their lives with that in mind. Gestation cycles would render athletes unfit for competition.

June 2014 came and athletes headed for the track. 28 year old Alysia Montan?o, Olympian and 4-time national champion, headed for tracks too. But Alysia was pregnant. 8 months pregnant.

It was incredulous! A woman all of 8 months pregnant competing in a race? And the Championships allowed it? No-one saw such a thing coming.

Alysia ran the 800 …show more content…

The glory of winning, or of representing your nation or yourself. Someone will win and someone will cross the finish line last, but there still can be glory for all. Alysia got the glory of confirming that pregnancy doesn't have to stop a woman if she truly wishes to participate.

The early days of athletics saw only men competing. Those times women were confined to household duties. Having babies and so on. Eventually women began to enter profession and maternity leave applied. Men do not get pregnant and their consideration for women naturally made it easy for men to dominate athletics. The change of times brought women into athletics. And maternity leave applied. Could new changes see pregnant women beginning to compete?

It would naturally be thought unsafe for a woman to carry out vigorous activity while pregnant. To run a race would be thought unthinkable. But experts agreed competing would be safe for Alysia since she was used to running. Of course, exercise is valuable for pregnancy, so long as the mother avoids routines that she cannot manage. Racing was a natural routine for Alysia, nothing she couldn't manage. 34 weeks pregnant, doctors advised her she could compete, and the Championships allowed her. Now the statement has been

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