Courtesy: Katelyn Borg
Growing up as a female swimmer I know the intense feeling of constant exposure and all the feelings associated with this. My uniform was a pair of bathers. A uniform which I wore every day for a few hours. Any variation in body shape or development was always on show.
I always found myself at this conflicting point. On pool deck, I wanted to look like a “swimmer”. I wanted the big broad shoulders, the muscly quads, and abs of steel. Away from the pool I wanted to look like a “typical” teenage girl, the type of girl you see modeling on social media. Trying on clothes was never a fun time. I could never buy the dress I wanted because it either was too small for my shoulders or too big everywhere else.
In my younger days of being an athlete, between my own internal pressures and the opinions of many people around me, I felt at times as though I didn’t fit in either world.
One of the most important things that I have come to understand is that everyone has their own set of insecurities. They vary across different stages of life, yet no one has the exact same insecurities.
Media surrounding loving and accepting your body is so widely seen, yet it is still so hard to master.
I have learned to love my physique. I own not only the way I look but what I am able to achieve. Looking back and moving forward, I only have to be one girl. Me!
There is no “normal”! No two bodies will ever look the same. Athletes and people may share similar characteristics but be so different at the same time. You get up every day and kick ass in whatever it is you choose to pursue. Your body enables you to do that!
Whatever shape or size, embrace what you have been given to work with. Your body is amazing, use it to develop, shape and work hard. Be confident in yourself, don’t confine yourself to stereotypical norms, you are designed to stand out. Be kind to yourself, and don’t underestimate the value of your own opinions. You can either let them break or make you.
Get out, rock what you got, do what makes you feel confident and kick ass!
Follow Katelyn on Instagram @coachkatelynn.
ABOUT KATELYN BORG
Katelyn Borg is a retired competitive swimmer of 10 years. She is currently a fulltime student studying a Bachelor of Sports and Exercise Science at La Trobe University with the goal to begin her Masters in 2023. Katelyn aspires to work in high-performance sport as a Strength & Conditioning Coach. Currently, Katelyn is pursuing her aspirations as a Swim and Strength & Conditioning Coach at Yarra Plenty Waves Swim Club. Katelyn enjoys coaching as it gives her the ability to share her passion with individuals who are only establishing theirs. She is grateful for the opportunity to have such a positive impact on individuals around her; inspire, assist, encourage, and share my knowledge.
My daughter is a swimmer, and even though we have similar height, her arms are longer and she has bigger shoulders. Buying her a dress is a issue I can relate.
As a long ago swimmer, now 67, I am incredibly grateful for the muscle and bone I acquired swimming and how it is making my creeping into senior citizen territory far easier and less limiting than that of women I know who were never athletes. Even though I am overweight and have a sedentary job, I still have more strength and endurance than many of my peers.
Swimmers have the strongest and most balanced bodies that an athlete can develop.
Growing up in a swimmers body taught me I have the most aesthetic build out of anyone I meet
“You mirin’?”