byMarianna Peluso
A keyboard warrior offends her (“Unpresentable with that big butt”), but the champion from Verona responds in kind. Support from colleagues Rosa and Malavisi
“It doesn’t matter if you are tall, short, slim, curvy; what is certain is that you will never be good enough for the keyboard warrior of the moment.” A denunciation that could resonate with many women who are victims of body shaming. The one taking the hit and responding with the grit that characterizes her is, in this case, Elisa Molinarolo, an athlete from Soave (Verona) who finished sixth at the Paris Olympics and was called “big butt” on social media.
The offense on physical appearance
An offensive epithet that the blue athlete decided to publish with a hashtag
returning it to the sender. The keyboard warrior specifically commented on the pole vault final with the following diatribe: “Of course, if you had an athlete’s physique, you could have done much better… with that big butt, you are unpresentable for an Olympic event.” A gratuitous malice directed at the first Italian female to qualify for the pole vault final at a championship alongside Roberta Bruni, who achieved her personal best of 4.70 meters on August 7, etching her name among the best pole vaulters in the world. However, for this couch opinionist, all these merits are still not enough, and he had the audacity to target her with direct messages and insults.
“I am used to it, but what if you find a fragile person?”
Instead of letting the episode slide, Elisa Molinarolo decided to make her indignation public, not considering the hater, but addressing only those who, like her, are victims of body shaming. “I am very angry about what has been written, for a very specific reason – explains the 30-year-old athlete –: on the other side of the screen is me, who over the years has received the worst insults regarding my physique and now I’ve ‘built a tolerance’, I have grown up and I am aware of the path I am taking with my nutritionist. But if instead of me there was a fragile person, struggling with the mirror, what would the result be?” Instead of letting herself be downcast, the athlete from the Fiamme Oro responded with strength, reminding of the importance of not being influenced by those who criticize physical appearance.
Solidarity from colleagues
Hundreds of comments have been received, from the world of sports, but also from ordinary people, supporters, and followers. First among them is Chiara Rosa, former Italian weightlifter from Camposampiero (Padua), bronze medalist at the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki and winner of thirty absolute national titles from 2005 to 2022, who wrote in a story: “If Elisa Molinarolo is unpresentable, who knows what I was during my golden days? What a shame these
“people”. Thank goodness we are (also) women with broad shoulders, among other things.” Alongside her is also pole vaulter Sonia Malavisi, saying, “I will never understand – she says – why people feel entitled to express unsolicited comments” and the mayor of Soave Matteo Pressi, who responded on social media “hands off our champion.”
The Olympian’s appeal: “Words can create damage”
In another story, the Olympian from Verona thanked the many people who showed support, reiterating that the issue is deeper than the Olympics, results, or measurements. “I spoke
about the subject – underscores the blue athlete – because I would like us to start addressing a real problem that is still unknown to many people.” Hence the appeal: “Words can cause enormous damage, sometimes irreparable! If you can, please help me share this issue for the sake of many people.”
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