Jess Varnish: 'Go and have a baby' comments spark fury from spurned cyclist
By Sheena McKenzie, CNN

(CNN)It's an organization with an unrivaled performance track record that's helped deliver numerous gold medals, but British Cycling finds itself embroiled in a potentially damaging sexism row.

British track cyclist Jess Varnish says the sport's chiefs told her she was "too old" and to "go and have a baby" after she was dropped from the Olympic squad.

"We treat any such allegations with the utmost seriousness and we will be contacting Jess to offer to discuss her concerns in full," said British Cycling in a statement.

Full story: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/25/sport/british-cyclist-jess-varnish-baby-sexism/index.html


-- CNN 2016-04-26

My 17 year old daughter was told to do that by a staff member of a Housing Authority in London when she applied for student accommodation.

The past 10 years sports governing bodies have been pushed by governments and sponsors alike to focus on potential medalists only. Long gone are the days of striving for personal bests and progress in development. It is show me the MONEY (medals) Performance levels are tested and what it takes to medal is well understood. Hit you numbers, continue to improve, stay on the correct side of the performance/age development curve and you will maintain financial support. Fall outside the curve and you are thrown out like a week old news paper, yesterdays news. Elite sport is cutthroat. Long gone are the days of everyone gets a participation ribbon, medal, trophy. 25 seems young to me to cast aside an athlete which had such strong results not long ago. A gold medal in 2011 World Championships speaks well for her. Bronze Commonwealth games medals in 2014 may mean nothing. It depends on the strength of the field. I am surprised coming 5th in the world championships was not enough to qualify her. Team numbers overall are probably restricted and someone else will be expected to ride that event in her place. They cycling federation is in all likelihood stacking the Olympic team with other cyclists that can support the medal result in another event. All that said, coaches find cutting athletes and making these decisions the most difficult part of the job. Nobody likes to fire anybody. If she thinks her best days are still ahead she should keep riding. Prove them wrong. That said it is very hard to do without funding. Working and training and competing. If the federation had more funding it could support more athletes on the edge. No money and decisions have to be made. 5 years ago she was a world champion.

At the last world championships she was 5th. Tough decisions, everyone is frustrated.

She should go and get nationality is some other small country that almost gives passports away and enter for them. Hopefully she would take first place.

Still the ole British attitude of Lords,Peers, and the rest of you rubble.

Still the ole British attitude of Lords,Peers, and the rest of you rubble.

I was going to correct you to 'rabble', but 'rubble' does quite accurately reflect a nation in ruins

Jess Varnish - a sprint cyclist with a great finish.

I wouldn't mind helping her......