Ten percent

As many of the best winter athletes in the world compete in South Korea, it is time to revisit complaints about the 2016 games in Rio. I do agree the stories that were presented (which I purposely pause then fast forward through) had a male bias and am hoping that those which I will ignore this year won't.

However, I have to disagree on two other points many have made. One is the talk about what the athletes are wearing. Many who only follow major sports events don't realize that team uniform designs are often discussed in the world of North American professional sports. In 2016, the person who started the MLB All Star game was suspended by his team after he took a scissors to a bunch of jerseys that he did not want to wear since he claimed that the style of them was distracting to his pitching. In Facebook, I have in the 18 months since the games made 6 posts about jersey colors or designs teams wore in certain situations including the NFL color rush jerseys for Thursday night games and the pink/blue uniforms baseball teams wore on mothers/fathers day.

What surprised me the most was reaction to my comment stating that men perform in sports 10% better than women on an elite level. I am not saying that I can beat my younger sister who is a triathlon racer in any footrace nor even come close to beating #1 women Paige Pierce in disc golf or even a local area female pro. I am referring to world record times in events where men and women compete under equal conditions. (In the 2017 US disc golf championship Paige Pierce finished 87th out of 99 players 54 shots out of first.)

Here is a chart of some summer and winter sports world records by men and women:

The one big surprise was the shot put which the female record was established by a Soviet athlete in the 80s. 6 of the other 9 were within 1.5 percentage points of 10%.

Another issue with sports that I have arguments over is the definition of a female athlete. I grew up seeing East German and Soviet female athletes that look more like men than women as well as Renee Richards who could not compete on the men's tennis circuit and tried to join the ladies' one after a sex change. Unlike in all other parts of life, I don't consider identifying oneself as female good enough to compete as a female in sport. I know there are people who have far more medical insight than me on the subject and have either established a guideline or a test or will do so.

All members of the Professional Disc Golf Association have a player rating based on how they performed at tournaments over the past year. Out of all the 50-59 year old male amateurs, my rating is tied for 1,219th best. It is also better than all 105 female 50-59 year old amateurs. No, I don't think Candace Sherlock would work.