The Perfect Body: As Illustrated by Olympic Athletes

[Crystol88]

Fascinating pictorial. Click the images for close-ups/slideshow:

Olympic athletes are among the go-to examples of the ideal human form. And popular culture — from diet pills, to gyms, low-calorie foods, weight loss clinics, and fat camps — all promise to deliver you this ONE perfect body. In a photography project dramatically challenging this narrative, Howard Schartz and Beverly Ornstein offer photographs of Olympic athlete with gorgeously and gloriously divergent bodies. No more needs to be said:

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages...mpic-athletes/

[dvsness]

The comments are as interesting as the pictures. It seems that people not involved in physique competition are a lot more easily impressed than we are (predictably).

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

Seems to me that it was trying to illustrate that although they are supposed to be "ideal" physiques, everyone has very different and diverse physiques. So what is exactly is ideal, kinda thing, and everyone is unique. Very interesting

[kaytikat]

Originally Posted by Scarl3tbutt3rfly

Seems to me that it was trying to illustrate that although they are supposed to be "ideal" physiques, everyone has very different and diverse physiques. So what is exactly is ideal, kinda thing, and everyone is unique. Very interesting

I think it's beautiful and a good demontration that "ideal" can be sport specific and not necessarily aesthetic. Thought it was sad that the immediate assumption was that the weightlifter was covered up because she was heavier.

[Becca Staggs]

Is it just me or did some of those weights seem WAY off? For example one of the rythmic gymnists was 5'5 112 lbs. I'm 5'5 and at 112 lbs I would be a waif compared to her. Next page, there were some 5'5 runners that were the same weight/height who looked - waify. Also there was a boxer that was 5'5 137 lbs who looked MUCH bigger than me offseason and that's what I would way at my top range. Or maybe that is the whole point.

Very cool illustration.

[Valkyrie]

Yah, i call bullshit on Cathy's 137lb boxer's body. The female hepthalete's upper body was pretty nice.

There was a lot of talk about why was the 300lb female weight lifter's body so much more covered than the rest...i'd probably ask for more covering too. She doesn't need to wear a bikini for everyone to see that she hasn't got an 'ideal' physique...

[Suzanne]

Originally Posted by Rebecca Staggs

Is it just me or did some of those weights seem WAY off? For example one of the rythmic gymnists was 5'5 112 lbs. I'm 5'5 and at 112 lbs I would be a waif compared to her. Next page, there were some 5'5 runners that were the same weight/height who looked - waify. Also there was a boxer that was 5'5 137 lbs who looked MUCH bigger than me offseason and that's what I would way at my top range. Or maybe that is the whole point.

Very cool illustration.

diff people same height and weight can look WAY different
some have small frames some large
I look like an anorexic as a LW yet plenty of other people at my height have more muscle and look like a bber as a LW they prob have smaller frames so i lose who know how many pound in bones wt to them that they get to put on as muscle

I can even go thru my own pics over the yrs and put same wt side by side and completely different look

[Crystol88]

Originally Posted by Rebecca Staggs

Is it just me or did some of those weights seem WAY off? For example one of the rythmic gymnists was 5'5 112 lbs. I'm 5'5 and at 112 lbs I would be a waif compared to her. Next page, there were some 5'5 runners that were the same weight/height who looked - waify. Also there was a boxer that was 5'5 137 lbs who looked MUCH bigger than me offseason and that's what I would way at my top range. Or maybe that is the whole point.

Very cool illustration.

Muscle density, bone density, and fat distribution are also factors that will make people who have the same scale weight look vastly different.

[Siouxcountry]

That was interesting, but I see it was not just Olympic athletes. I wonder why they chose to use Kim Chizevsky, but not any current bodybuilders.