Jennifer Zoellick introduction

My name is Jennifer Zoellick and I am a junior at Bowling Green State University. I am from Carol Stream, Illinois, a suburb about 30 miles directly west of Chicago. I high school I did cheerleading for my first two years and I played softball up to my junior year. I do not compete in any sports here at Bowling Green, nor have I participated in an intramural sport.

                The female athlete that I would most like to see compete is Gabby Douglas. She just won the Olympic all around gold medal for Women’s gymnastics. I have always loved watching gymnastics and I think it is great that Gabby also has the title as the first African American woman to win the all-around gold. Her positive attitude is contagious, and she made a great leader for the American Women’s gymnastics team, which also won the team gold medal. She works very hard for being only sixteen, which is very respectable and admirable.

                The male athlete I would like to see is Michael Phelps. As the most decorated Olympian in history, it is hard not to respect his work ethic and talent. Obviously his hard work pays off, 19 gold medals is certainly no small feat. Despite his exposed drug use, Phelps is still strongly respected in the swimming world as well as in the American home.

                I do not have many concerns for this class. The topics seem very interesting as well as the articles. It is always difficult to keep up with a class when the discussion is boring and the articles are uninteresting, but I do not see that being a problem in this class. I am excited for this class and cannot wait to learn more about the connection between sport and gender.

 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/michael_farber/07/31/michael-phelps-greatest-olympian-all-time/index.html