Cain was the youngest US track and field athlete to make the World Championship team, but is now alleging that she was "emotionally and physically abused by a system designed by Alberto [Salazar] and endorsed by Nike."
Cain is claiming that Salazar would shame her in front of others on the team when she did not reach the required weight targets which caused her to put extra pressure on herself to lose weight. Furthermore, she said that her low weight caused her to miss her period for three years, leading to lower levels of estrogen and five broken bones.
She recalls that when she was signed by the Oregon project in 2013 she was motivated to be the "best female athlete ever" but she soon found herself just trying to survive. She claims that upon her arrival, an all male Nike staff convinced her that in order to reach her goals she would have to become thinner and thinner.
She believes that this abuse lead to her suicidal thoughts and her cutting herself. Nike is looking into the "deeply concerning allegations." However, it is worthy noting that Salazar's methods have previously been called into question by the U.S Anti-Doping Agency that found him guilty of conducting experiments with supplements and testosterone that were bankrolled and supported by Nike. As a result Salazar has been suspended for four years and the Nike Oregon project has been shut down.
However, from the darkness of Cain's story into the light comes dozens of female athletes to her aide. Women supporting women should be the positive story line arc from this. Let Salazar slowly fade into the darkness of oblivion, and let the lesson be to support each other in intense situations.
Quickly reacting to Cain sharing her story was long distance Olympian Shalene Flanagan who tweeted out her support “I’m so sorry, @runmarycain that I never reached out to you when I saw you struggling. I made excuses to myself as to why I should mind my own business. We let you down. I will never turn my head again.”
Another former American Olympian, Amy Yoder Begley, tweeted that she was kicked out of the Oregon Project after finishing sixth in the 10,000 meters at the United States track and field championships.“I was told I was too fat and ‘had the biggest butt on the starting line,’” she wrote, “This brings those painful memories back.”
American olympian, Kara Goucher, who also trained at the Oregon project tweeted that she "has stories to match all of Mary’s claims and so much more.” These women coming out and supporting Cain's story is important as its often nice for people to feel validated and believed.
It is critical that moving forward women support each other not only in the aftermath but during the actual time frame of events themselves. These stories are painful, and raw but we hope that the female running community can lean on each other and building something stronger.
No comments:
Post a Comment