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European 2020 champion in pair skating Alexandra Boykova opened up about the stereotype about “stupid athletes” . Sports are looking into whether it’s true that it’s easier to win with low intelligence and who they are anyway – stupid athletes.
Footballers with the appearance of sheep
The stereotype about athletes who are not spoiled by their intellect has existed for a long time. It is an important part of popular culture in TV series, movies, books and even advertising. They played it funny in one commercial, where the football players, looking like sheep in front of the new goal, said: “The coach forbids us to think.” Or an anecdote: a father had three sons, two smart, and the third a football player. Football here is part of a pattern – the average athlete (even a wrestler, even a figure skater) is considered to be more stupid than a person in any other profession.
Trick the fact is that, like any other stereotype, this one has a sufficient amount of confirmation in real life. And the same number of examples refuting it.
Some earn a certificate, others receive a gold medal not only at the Olympics, but also at school – like Alexey Yagudin and Alexey Smertin. One is not able to connect two words, the other easily conducts a dialogue – he can work as a presenter and even act in a movie.
But the topic one way or another periodically arises. “There are people who confirm this stereotype,” Boykova said in an interview with the Match-point YouTube channel. “I know many of them. If many thoughts didn’t interfere with me, I would always skate clean. I interfere with myself with my own thoughts.” Therefore, when you are stupid, it’s easier, you don’t think.
We need to decide what the word “stupid” actually means. Doesn't know the multiplication table and can't write? Such extreme cases have not yet been recorded, and indeed there are specific medical diagnoses for them. Makes mistakes on social media and doesn't know the capital of Australia? But there are enough such people in other environments, not just sports.
The question in general is, rather, who should be considered smart as opposed to “stupid”. Let's say a person does not know how metal is oxidized and does not remember the power formula from physics. But at the same time I read a lot of fiction books and watched various ballets. Is he smart or dumb? Or he knows spoken English, but is frankly illiterate in writing Russian. It’s also unclear how to evaluate.
“If you knock your head on the side…”
Most skaters are actually quite literate people, but in their own narrow field. They know how to properly sharpen their skates, how to wrap their feet so that bloody blisters don’t interfere with their jumping, and how to rotate their body so as not to lose their balance. It is a craft, like the work of a tailor, jeweler or accountant. While devoting a lot of time and effort to their craft, figure skaters naturally lack erudition and diversified development. But they are brilliant in their business and all related areas.
But there are exceptions here too. Among the athletes there are not only artisans, but also real creators. It is impossible to doubt the vast intellect and erudition of, say, Ilya Averbukh, Tatyana Tarasova and many other big stars.
In general, lately it has become fashionable to be smart. Skaters try to pass the Unified State Exam well, even if they enter the Institute of Physical Education. Firstly, because it’s nice to then publish 75+ points on social networks. Secondly, journalists will definitely ask how you are doing. Nobody wants to look stupid compared to the conventional Pyotr Gumennik, who passed the exams with 100 points, or Evgeniy Semenenko, who is seriously studying at a medical university.
At the same time, it is objectively difficult for them to study well. Training takes up most of the day – otherwise you won’t be able to stay on the Russian team. So we have to involve tutors and additional classes.
At the same time, the athletes themselves also notice if someone around them has a bad brain. Naturally, we don’t name names: in the Russian dance world, a legend goes from mouth to mouth about one very talented, but very narrow-minded partner. They joke that if you knock this guy's head and skate covers on the board, the sound will be the same. This does not prevent him from being quite successful at his level, but, as Dragunsky wrote in Deniskin’s Stories, he will never achieve the fame of Ivan Kozlovsky.
Daria Usacheva argued in an interview that being smart is an important condition for a figure skater’s career. This is necessary to learn complex elements, understand artistic images and music, lead a media lifestyle and at the same time look attractive to the public. But excessive reflection and digging into oneself often gets in the way. In fact, Sasha Boykova confirmed this thought of Dasha. Self-analysis at the wrong moment can unsettle so much that no amount of coaching influence will be enough to return the athlete to an optimal state.
Probably, the greatest success in sports is achieved by those who combine the power of intelligence and the ability to do the right thing. moment to turn it off, completely subordinating yourself to the voice of the body and the coach. But what is more in this, talent or skill, is a very big question.
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