Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc are a figure skating duo that won their second national title just last month and are now getting ready to compete in their first ever Winter Olympics in Beijing. Their chemistry off the ice is how they described their secret to winning as well as their atypical non-romantic ways of telling their story on the ice. It was something different compared to everyone else who competed.
In this article the duo explains the challenges they have faced with society, having Ashley Cain-Gribble wear a long sleeve unitard rather than a dress she has to deal with the societal backlash as well as the body shaming that comes with being a woman in sport. Her figure skating partner, Timothy Leduc, who identifies as gay, has also experienced the hate comments although he has become the first out non-binary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics. Although it’s 2022, people still make comments about Ashley Cain-Gribbles’ body (being 5’6 this is taller than the average woman figure skater) and about Timothy Leduc’s’ sexuality. Researcher found that discriminatory behaviour is still found common in sport and people are questioning why sport organisations are slow at addressing LGBT exclusion. Cain-Gribble talks about how the body shaming almost forced her to retire from the sport entirely.
In most pairs skating athletes usually tell the story of the girl who is “fragile” and needs saving, this would be a romantic Romeo and Juliet story that’s told. Leduc tells CNN sport “there’s nothing wrong with those stories but often they are centralised and seen as the only narratives that you can portray, the only story that’s worthy of being a champion or successful.” Timothy Leduc goes on to explain how he and Cain-Gribble are unique in the way they have never portrayed a romance story behind their performance. Their performance is about two skilled athletes uniting and creating something beautiful.
Camryn Kleynhans
Sport, Not Games ⚽ 