The body

In todays society no matter where you go, different places will have different ideologies of the perfect body. Sport is no different in that respect. A good example of this in the current era of sport is with Gonzalo Higuaín. On his day Higuaín is one of the most prolific strikers in the world and has been sought after by many big clubs in the past. In recent times he broke the Serie A scoring record with Napoli with his 36th goal of the season on the final day of the season, His hattrick goal sealed the record. However since securing his move to Juventus he has come under much scrutiny about his size and physique. Higuain responded to his critics by saying .'It is better if you keep saying I'm fat, I will continue to score goals,' he told Tuttosport.
'Come on, I'm fine, I have trained for 20 days and I honestly do not understand all this interest on my condition. 'I believe the idea behind the perfect body stems back to the original Olympics where being in the prime condition came hand in hand with sporting ability. I feel as though many people still believe to be the best at a sport you have to have the best body.

However there are cases in sport where not having the best body doesn't limit a sportsperson competing at the highest level. Another example of this is with Tyson Fury who defeated Wladimir Klitschko in a fight which shocked the world. Tyson Fury's body was described as 'unhealthy', 'Dad bod' and more but he defeated an opponent who was in much better physical shape. I believe the main reason why body shaming in sports exists is because of commercial reasons. A good body is what sponsors want to sell products or entice people to come and watch live events. However having a good body does not necessarily make you better at sport, I believe even though many people understand and accept that it isn't widely accepted as the sponsors prefer selling products.

Higuaín at Juventus

Higuaín at Napoli