The Olympics just wrapped up and it was hard not to notice all of the different body types throughout the games. Each athlete’s body targetted the demanding needs of their own individual sport.

Former USA National Team coach for swimming, Jonty Skinner stated that “limb length and size play a huge role in event potential, and the relationship between arm length and height gives a better picture of the athlete’s potential.” This is why Katie Ledecky, at 6 feet tall, excels over other female swimmers including most of her teammates. Her height lends to a long wingspan which definitely plays a part in her being successful at 27 years old across 4 different Olympic games.

Ryan Crouser, American Shot put athlete, has won Gold in his event for the past three Olympics. Ryan has the physique to match his sport. He is 6 foot 7 and 320 pounds. He has a much different physique from the men on the gymnastics team. Both of their sports require them to be powerhouses, but in very different ways.

As a sprinter, Noah Lyles’ biggest focus is actually his torso rather than his legs. According to Olympic Rules and regulations, the first athlete whose torso crosses the finish line first wins. His anatomy and body type plays a huge role in his success.

And then our hero, the GOAT, Simone Biles is 4 ft 8 inches tall. She is shorter than the average gymnast. Whenever she launches herself into a vault, succeeds in a huge tumbling pass on floor, or lands with precision on the beam, due to her short stature she has a lower center of gravity, which assists with both balance and agility.

So why do we, the non-Olympians, suffer (forture ourselves? shame ourselves?) for not having the ideal body-type…meaning someone else’s body type? The point is that having a co-dependent relationship of body size and self-confidence is not a unique one. Media is so ripe with advertisements for weight-loss products and seventeen year old stick-thin models that the message of thin = beautiful, thin = lovable, thin = successful is always in our faces. Even in the fitness industry, ripped muscles on thin bodies are the standard magazine cover defining what it looks like to be in shape, sexy, and desirable.

Olympic Bronze Medalist, a now viral USA Rugby team member Ilhona Maher said, “I think there’s this idea about what female athletes are and this need to be lean and fit. But, no, there’s athletes of all shapes and sizes competing at the Olympics.” She even responded to a hateful comment on social media with her BMI number.

We see unrealistic expectations from images of “influencers” on what we should strive for. Our self esteem is measured by what we see in the mirror. How can we change the expectations? What can we do to open the dialogue up to being more accepting of ourselves just as we are? What the Olympics can teach us is that every body type is capable of achievement. May we take that idea with us from Paris and beyond!