Morgan Mitchell exposes the sickening culture of body-shaming, and it “blows my mind.”
M. Mitchell Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Aussie track sensation Morgan Mitchell has opened up about the vile side of online celebrity and the decision to switch to a female-only coaching team.
In a recent podcast, the 27-year-old Olympian discussed the frequent, hurtful comments she has received about her body.
Mitchell, who ran a leg in Australia’s 4x400m relay team that made it to the finals in Rio, said she gained four kilogrammes over the off-season and was mocked for being overweight as a result.
Every three weeks, I went to get my body mass Index Checked.
In 2017, she remarked, “I didn’t eat breakfast, went to the gym, ate a muesli bar, and maybe half a salad wrap for dinner.”
The 800m runner has 110,000 Instagram followers, and even she is shocked by the things trolls say.
To paraphrase, “You’re so tiny, you look amazing” or “oh, you’ve got cellulite on your thighs, you’re going to run sluggish” are the only compliments she’s ever received.
As I think back on it, I can’t help but chuckle.
This used to bother me a lot, but now I’m just thinking, ‘How could people? Honestly, how could you say anything like that to someone else? It’s mind-boggling.
The Women who help Morgan Mitchell behind the Scenes:
Since women have a greater grasp on Mitchell’s unique physical needs, she now employs an all-female coaching and support crew.
She explained that she had to dismiss her entire staff when she moved up from the 400-meter to the 800-meter event.
When I first heard that my new coach was a woman, I was sceptical. Yes, my sport psychologist is a lady. My boss is a woman.
Women can relate to other women. For some reason, I just can’t seem to get that across to men. They didn’t seem interested, instead suggesting that I “toughen up and move on,” among other unhelpful suggestions.
They’d never been in a female body, so they had no basis for understanding your complaints.
My coach is the best because she doesn’t care how I look as long as I show up to training and run the times she gives me.
Chris Kruger, a fitness YouTuber, has previously criticised Mitchell, who was featured in the 2018 Netflix documentary The Game Changers.
While discussing Mitchell’s body in 2019, Kruger referred to her “cottage cheese thighs” as a result of her new vegan diet.
She concluded, “At the end of the day, yeah, I get dimples, I’ve always had dimples before I was even vegan.”
In other words, “flaws are OK,” “I’m always going to be a little bit heavier in off season,” and “I’m not going to win every race.”
Mitchell competed for Australia in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2021 Winter Olympics in Tokyo.
She attended both the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow and 2018 on the Gold Coast.
