Anyika Onuora: Olympic medallist on body image confidence issues as a young athlete

[Nergal]

 

British Olympic medallist Anyika Onuora says she used to wear baggy clothes to hide her body because people "felt entitled to touch it".

The 34-year-old, who won 4x400m relay bronze at Rio 2016, struggled with body image confidence as a youngster having gone to a predominantly white school.

As an athlete, she was often told she was "fat" because her body was naturally bigger than many peers.

"At times you would feel objectified," said Onuora, who has Nigerian parents.

"I had an adult body at such a young age - I had hips, quite a big backside, and I didn't know what to do with it or how to feel about it."

Onuora - who started her athletics career as a 100m and 200m sprinter before moving to the longer distance - was speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's The Sista Collective podcast.

She said she used to avoid wearing crop tops and short shorts while training because "no-one had the same body", and chose to wear black clothes to avoid drawing attention to herself.

"When I was younger, I used to wear a big coat to cover my whole hips and backside, and my friends and family always used to ask me why I was covering up," said the 2015 World Championship bronze medallist.

"It was because you have moments where people feel the need to just grab it, they feel entitled to touch because they are curious and it's not something they see."

She added: "When you're around a bunch of white girls and their bodies look the same, and then there is yours, it messes with your self-esteem so much."