The b beau

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founde Olympics, wasn’t a big fan of women’s p Games. In 1928, he said: “If some women w or box, let them, provided the event takes tators because the spectators who flock to aren’t there to watch a sport.” Couber wrong. He was right because American sprinter Flore wouldn’t have garnered as much attention as she did the way she looked or dressed. How could one explain lions of dollars raked in by Russian diva A Kournikova, who couldn’t win a WTA title in her car leave alone a grand slam? At the same time, however, would be downright sexist to suggest that women ar nothing more than pretty dolls on playing fields Women have come a long way at the Olympics. They are participants in every sport and they compete in all athletic disciplines except the 50- kilometre race walking. And, they work no less hard than men and are as fiercely competitive.

Rio 2016 will feature quite a few women athletes with style and substance.

essica Ennis- Hill was the poster girl at the London Games four years ago. The ever- smiling heptathlete matched mounting expectations at home by winning a welldeserved gold for Great Britain. After giving birth to a child after the London high, she had to start from scratch to recapture her old form. It’s never easy for many but Jessica isn’t Jessica without her resilience. If getting back to competitive shape was the first challenge, Canada’s Brianne Theisen- Eaton would not make it easy for her at Rio. Brianne owns the best score in the gruelling combined event this year and she would be keen to match her husband Ashton Eaton’s performance at the Olympics. USA’s Eaton, the world record holder in the decathlon, is the defending Olympics champion.