Crystal Dunn’s body is on display and also explained.
About this time of the year, when ESPN The Magazine publishes its annual Body Issue, I usually go off on what they are trying to prove. Athletes are in great shape? Duh, what a surprise!
I would like to see C.C. Sabathia in the near buffo, because the Yankee pitcher is about 50 pounds overweight and still pretty good in his late 30s. At least I’m happy that LeBron James isn’t back in the Body Issue this year, at least from what I’ve seen.
But former Carolina soccer star Crystal Dunn has a nice explanation of why she has made her body work in a sport with women of different dimensions. Dunn talks about being 5-foot-2 and 125 pounds, which seems like a good proportion. But most of her weight is on the lower half of her body, which isn’t prototypical for fleet soccer players with great foot work.
Dunn has become one of the most versatile athletes in the game – ACC offensive player of the Year one season and Defensive Player of the Year the next. She has the perfect physique to do both; the stout lower body keeps her from being thrown all over the field by bigger opponents, and it allows her to be an aggressive defender against attackers.
Little wonder that Dunn’s athletic role model is Serena Williams, who has the antithetical body of a tennis player with both speed and power. Only after Williams proved she is one of the greatest athletes of all time have people come to admire her unusual body for her sport. That is Dunn’s goal as an atypically looking soccer star.
So, this year, I am giving props to the Body Issue, which is more than a bunch of buffed athletes posing while hiding their private parts. The featured athletes talk more about their bodies, how they developed them and how they use them for success in their respective sports.
Dunn says she now gets complimented for being so strong and effective on the pitch. And she credits the coaches who gave her a chance to show she could play the game as well as the taller and swifter players.
Whereas she was once embarrassed by her strong and muscular legs, Dunn is now proud of what a unique soccer player her lower body has helped her become.
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