Toni Waterman spoke to Missy Franklin about gender parity at the Summer Olympics and how important it is for the next generation.
Missy also shared her thoughts on Team USA, Team GB and Team China in this year’s swimming competition.
#Paris2024 #Olympics #equality
Missy also shared her thoughts on Team USA, Team GB and Team China in this year’s swimming competition.
#Paris2024 #Olympics #equality
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Why do you think it's important, I mean obviously your mom, why do you think it's important that we have equal representation between men and women this time around?
00:08Oh my gosh, I mean there's no reason for it not to be important to have equal representation.
00:12I think this Olympics is huge for it being the first time ever to have 50% male, 50% female.
00:17I think that just shows so much. It shows how far women have come, it shows how far sports has come.
00:22There's still a long way to go but I think we all realize in this fight we have to stop and celebrate the wins when we get them and this is a massive win.
00:29It's the biggest sporting event of all time to have gender equity and now that this bar has been set I think we want to do everything we can to make sure that this is the standard moving forward.
00:37And what would you like to see? Obviously there's not parity and equality or just two separate things.
00:44Yes.
00:45And there's not pay equality, there's not fair representation between coaches and referees. So where do you see this movement going next?
00:51Well you said it perfectly, I think that's where we want it to go.
00:54We have that equal representation now, now we need to make sure that everything else follows in line.
00:58So we're looking for equal pay, we're looking for that representation in coaches and staff members, for those sponsorship deals, for the media deals.
01:05We want to make sure that women athletes are getting the attention they deserve for being the phenomenal role models, athletes and human beings that they are.
01:12So this is an amazing stepping stone into doing that and we have so many voices in this space that are working so hard to make that happen.
01:19And I think people are really realizing the value in amazing women athletes and the role model that they are.
01:25Not just to young girls, but to young boys and to our younger generation as a whole.
01:29Were you against it?
01:31I did not. I feel so fortunate. I feel like swimming has actually always been a very gender equal sport.
01:36The opportunities are provided for either male or female just depending on how you perform and how you race.
01:41So I feel incredibly fortunate in that space.
01:43But that does not mean that I'm not going to continue to fight for my sisters that are in sports where that is not the case.
01:48It is so important and I feel so fortunate to have had that experience.
01:51But because of that, I want to make sure that all my fellow female athletes have that same experience.
01:55Swimming, what are you looking for?
01:57Oh my gosh, I'm so excited.
01:59You know, it just got started last night, so finals was amazing.
02:02Watching the men's 4x100 relay bring home gold was so special.
02:05You know, doing that, I think, three years in a row now is absolutely incredible.
02:09And, you know, I think we've got so much to look forward to.
02:11Regan Smith, I can't wait to watch her swim.
02:13Kate Douglas is swimming absolutely phenomenally.
02:15Gretchen Walsh is the hunter flying tonight.
02:17I think that's going to be really fun to watch.
02:19And then the men, we definitely have some exciting things happening over there as well.
02:22A lot of youngins on the team.
02:23So really just excited for the team.
02:25A lot of members making their first Olympic debut.
02:28So it's just going to be a really good experience for them.
02:30What about this emerging or maybe not emerging kind of rivalry between the US, the Aussies?
02:35Definitely not emerging at all.
02:37The media is making a huge deal out of it.
02:39And this has been around literally for generations.
02:42Australia has always been our biggest competition.
02:44But I think, more so than ever, they are going to be hard to beat this Olympic cycle.
02:49They are showing up and showing out.
02:51The past world championships last year, they were phenomenal.
02:53We've already seen, based on one night, they're here and they're not backing down.
02:57So there are going to be some serious tough competition this meet.
03:00But, honestly, it elevates the sport.
03:02And it elevates us at the end of the day when we have competitors that push us to be the best versions of ourselves.
03:07So I know that all the athletes are just grateful for the opportunity to race against the best in the world.
03:11And what about the Chinese? There seems to be, on the diving side, obviously, there's some rivalry.
03:15There's swimming events as well.
03:17A little bit, yeah, for sure.
03:18I think the Chinese always show up on an Olympic year as well.
03:21So they've always proved to be really tough competitors as well.
03:23And, like I said, I think just making sure we use that to our advantage
03:26and use the people around us to be the best we've ever been.