by The mother and coach of Eilish McColgan, Liz McColgan, says that comments on social media on the shape of the body of her daughter are “degrading and abusive”.
Commonwealth Champion 10,000m, Eilish McColgan, published a video of herself in training on a treadmill in preparation for her first London marathon, which prompted suggestions in comments that followed if she had a food disorder.
The old 10,000 m Olympic silver medalist, Liz McColgan, retaliated in an article on Instagram, saying: “We come from all shapes and sizes, they obviously do not understand that being a runner brings the fat of the lower body, but being an idiot and not fully understanding that your body must be powered correctly by eating or your body will not work particularly for marathons.”
Liz McColgan said that her daughter, 34, was “strong enough” to raise negative comments, but added that she was concerned about young athletes.
“Stop jealousy and mistreatment of online female athletes by publishing ridiculous and stupid comments as above,” added Liz McColgan.
“My concern as a parent is not for Eilish because it is of a character strong enough to deal with these people, my concern is for other children, athletes who are not so strong of character to deal with degrading and abusive comments on their appearance.”
