Ceci n’est pas un cheval

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Photo by David J. Phillip/AP

Women’s figure skating gold medalist Kim Yu-na outscored her competitors by a wide margin.  As reported by the LA Times (here) and other news outlets, here’s how 1984 men’s figure skating champion and sports announcer Scott Hamilton described Yu-na’s performance:

“Yuna is like Seabiscuit, a champion who found a way of breaking others’ will,” Hamilton said.

I liked Scott Hamilton as a skater and I (generally) like him as a commentator, but couldn’t he come up with a better comparison?  Something other than the women’s gold medalist was like a horse?  Yeah, yeah, Seabiscuit dominated horse racing, but surely Hamilton is more creative than that.

This isn’t the first time that women athletes have been compared to horses — no, wait, that horses have been considered “women athletes.”  Remember the Fox Sports list of Top Women Athletes, blogged by Ann here?  Scott Hamilton, please don’t stoop to Fox’s level.

-Bridget Crawford

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