Holley
Mangold is truly an inspiration. For
those of you who don’t know who Holley Mangold is, she is an Olympic power
lifter who overcame a great deal of discrimination and sexism. Holly is originally from Dayton Ohio and
graduated from Altar High school in 2008.
She played football since she was in elementary school and continued to
play through high school. Being that
Holley is a girl she faced many pessimistic thoughts and views in regards to
her playing football; however, that is not the only reason she faced so much
scrutiny. Holley isn’t exactly shaped
like Americas next top model; she is a bigger girl shaped more so like her
older brother Nick Mangold who is the starting center for the New York Jets.
Throughout her football/grade school career
she was called fat and various other negative names because of the way she
looked and how she opposed the norm.
Holley always took everything in stride and had a positive outlook no
matter what negative energy was thrown her way.
After high school and football were over for her she began to train for
Olympic power lifting. She wasn’t
expected to make the cut for the 2012 Olympics at all; however, just as she had
done throughout her life she defied the odds once more and made the2012
Olympics. During her training for
competition she was filmed for MTV’s True Life.
It was during this time that she showed off her exuberant and genuinely
happy outlook on life. She expressed
her views on how she is comfortable with her body and how nobody can change that. Below is a clip of Holley’s story on ESPN.
Even
with all the non believers that contributed to the criticism of Holley Mangold
she kept her head above water and kept her eyes on the prize. Holley’s story is great for sports and
athletics worldwide for the fact that she is a woman of great strength
literally and figuratively and didn’t let societies norms stop her from
achieving her dreams. Holly’s story
proves that there is no reason a female cannot play in the same sport as
men. She played football all of her life
against guys and held her own. She
infiltrated and left her mark on the sport of power lifting and she’s not close
to being finished. She is just getting
started and I believe she will accomplish so much more in any sport she takes
on. This should inspire women worldwide
to participate in any athletic event they desire without feeling out of
place. This story should also show men
that females can participate in any sport that they can. Society will always have its norms but we can
always do our best to change those.
Written By: Janelle Campbell
I had never heard of Holley Mangold before this class. She represents the idea that being different is okay and you should like yourself for who you are. She also shows the male-dominated world of sports, weight-lifting in particular, that a woman is capable of competing at the highest level in what is considered to be a masculine sport. Of course, some people, men and women both, would still make the argument that Mangold is the exception among female athletes rather than the norm. An argument could still be made that most women could not do what she does. Even so, the fact that Mangold has made her mark, not only in weight-lifting but in football as well, shows that the age-old stereotype about women playing certain sports is not always true.
ReplyDeleteBy David Shelmon
I truly respect Holley Mangold for being such a great athlete and a person. People like Holley will only succeed because she believes and has confidence in whatever she does. For her older brother being the starting center for the New York Jets, it definitely has a huge impact in influencing her to succeed. I like how her family is supporting her in football and also powerlifting. I can sense her competitive nature in her when she speaks in the video you posted. She wants to prove everyone that does not believe in her wrong and succeed. She is constantly holding her head high and striving to become a better athlete. The most important factor that she has is she does not care what others think of her because it will have a great effect on her goals if she does. Everyone should learn from Holley and have the positive attitude she has.
ReplyDelete- Marcus Kok
Taylor Redd
ReplyDeleteHolley Mangold is a very interesting person to read about and I truly respect her. It is very unfortunate that she has to deal with such scrutiny from society because she is a female power lifter, but that is just the way it is. Anyone who steps outside of what is considered normal is going to face all kinds of scrutiny. Look at Brittney Griner for example. Just because she can dunk a basketball, society automatically considers her a man. Our society says that females are not supposed to be big strong Olympic power lifters and football players, but Holley does not care. She overcomes unbelievable odds and has made herself an Olympian. I truly admire her courage and love the way she carries herself with such a positive attitude.
I would have to agree with Taylor that i have built the same amount of respect for Holly Mangold. Before watching this short video in class, I had heard of her athleticism and dilemmas she faced growing up. As a child growing up in competitive sports, she wasn't considered in the norm because of the capabilities she had. Which she now makes her strength in life and in powerlifting, to be where she is today. After all the trouble's she had, as she got older trying to stick with competitive sports, she still stuck with her favorite aspiration. Which is really amazing to me because if i had to go through the same scrutiny as her, I feel that I would of never been successful as her and built such a great attitude towards life.
DeleteBy Anthony Pape ☺
Before really learning about Holley Mangold in class, I didn't really know to much about her except for the fact that when I was in high school I remember watching a television show on MTV that talked about her growing up as a young adult and all of the different issues she had to deal with on a daily basis. I find it so amazing that Holley was able to basically put aside all of the negative criticism and turned it into motivation for her to become the best at what she does. I truly have nothing but total respect for her and feel that she should be the poster child for all people, especially women for the fact that you should always try and reach for the stars and do something you love no matter what others may think of you. I wish we could see more athletes like her that test the status quo of society. I personally love watching athletes with that rebel mentality, meaning the ones who are willing to take on a challenge no matter societies views may be on the situation.
ReplyDeleteBy Josh Gibson
I remember seeing the episode of True Life when she was on it. Back then, I didn't care too much about it and I'm sure i changed the channel. But after talking about her and learning more about her, I actually disappointed that I didn't watch the whole thing. I think Holly Mangold is a great person in and off the field. She proved to so many females that they could do whatever they wanted to do. If a female wanted to play a male sport, Holly Mangold set the bar. She has accomplished so much at a very young age. I think its great that she even made it to the Olympics even though she didn't win. Another thing that I love about Hollie Mangold is that she has a big personality! With all the negative comments and people staring at her, she still has a way to make a great situation out of a bad one. She is truly a role model to a number of women around the world. Even though she a big body, she will never let that be a problem in her eyes. I feel as though that's how every girl is supposed to think. Love yourself simply because you know that nobody else will. I really enjoyed learning more about her and watching her accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteBy: Angel Akinkuoye
By: Taylor Cook
ReplyDeleteI have seen the actual episode that Holley was featured on and I have to say that it was definitely an inspirational show to watch. It is obvious that Holley is never going to win any type of beauty pageant and she is completely fine with that. I feel like that is what our society is missing because we feel the need to live up to certain standards that are created by the media when in reality we should be like Holley and make the best out of the hand we are dealt in life. I know that ever since seeing that True Life episode I have continued to track Holley's career and I know that one day she will take home the gold for the USA powerlifting team. She will do this because of her unending desire to win and be the best.
I think it's great that Holly Mangold has overcome the social stigmas and negative things that she has encountered her life to find personal success. Sometimes the physical differences between males and females can make it impossible for them to compete on the same plane however Holly has shown that this is not that case for everyone. Her demonstration of perseverance and work ethic should be an inspiration to athletes everywhere, males and females, that success comes from hard work and that you can truly achieve what you want to do if you have the right mind set and determination. I hope she continues on to find more success so her story can keep serving as an example of hard work and that not everything is determined by gender.
ReplyDeleteBy Max Perry