During the Olympics it's pretty common for people to turn into armchair professional athletes. It's a fun joke when your friends start commenting on the performance of legitimate Olympians, as if they understand the sport better than those at the top of their competition.
It's less funny when those comments are taken online, and directed at a champion, especially one who would go on to win a gold medal.
Vitalina Batsarashkina, a Russian air pistol sharpshooter, went viral for her stance while competing.
I am obsessed with the stance on this sharpshooterpic.twitter.com/DagufxorxL— Zoe! That's Me! (@Zoe! That's Me!) 1627307173
The image was shared for the Tokyo Olympics, but is actually from the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, Batsarashkina is performing in the Tokyo games as well and her stance hasn't changed.
Others quickly picked up on the vibes and felt her cool and relaxed pose was to be admired.
Vitalina Batsarashkina stan accountpic.twitter.com/24pdmSQxcC— axel \u24cb (@axel \u24cb) 1627388751
@Super_Vitalina stance is so greatpic.twitter.com/IW12m9dPKq— darkglyme (@darkglyme) 1627422380
Vitalina Batsarashkina fan account https://twitter.com/witchergame/status/1420033801451888648\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/B8JZHTmJyp— Alberto \ud83d\udc0d (@Alberto \ud83d\udc0d) 1627397936
Imagine winning waiting for 5 years for your moment & then having this level of cool when it arrives... \n\n@Super_Vitalina #\u0437\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043e #Goldpic.twitter.com/xl76OAGB1r— Tess Morris-Paterson (@Tess Morris-Paterson) 1627666598
Russia's amazing air pistol queen Vitalina #Batsarashkina sure has style!\n\nHer cool shooting stance caught the eye of millions of fans \n\nChill & badass, it's also highly effective - Gold & Silver by @Super_Vitalina are evidence to that.\n\n#LikeItsNothing #LikeARussianpic.twitter.com/e2nzTxxF5I— Russia \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa (@Russia \ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa) 1627458193
However, not everyone was so supportive. A number of men came out of the woodwork to share their opinion on the one-handed stance Batsarashkina used during her shots.
Several comments tried to claim that the sharpshooter would break her wrist from the recoil. Others claimed the stance would affect her performance, causing her to miss.
Most of their comments missed a few facts.
- 1) This is air pistol shooting, not a normal gun. Recoil is significantly reduced.
- 2) The stance is pretty standard for many competitors in the sport, as shooters must fire one-handed.
- 3) Vitalina Batsarashkina won a gold medal for her performance.
One comment became so infamous, the user deleted their tweet.
Twitter user @AintNathiel (account suspended) tried to claim:
"That will have huge recoil theres a reason why people tell you to hold the gun with both hands"
But they weren't the only one trying to mansplain why this stance was so bad when, again, the sharpshooter won a gold medal.
Not ideal, but it can work since the gun has light recoil and the relaxing stance can be ideal in terms of breathing and heartbeat.— Evil Morty (@Evil Morty) 1627484204
Yeah an Olympic level athlete is firing her firearm in a manner that's going to break her wrist. Believe that if you want.— Peter Amthor (@Peter Amthor) 1627371867
She's not gonna have a broken anything, it's an air gun my guy and every single Olympic athlete in this competition shoots like that, maybe get off your high horse and use google for once— FFluffyy (@FFluffyy) 1627490271
Wait, it\u2019s in the rules that they all have to break their wrists? How horrible! ;) \n\n(Am a man, and not splaining - just trying to have fun at mansplainers expense) ;)— JK (@JK) 1627418435
leave it to some dude on twitter to tell an olympic gold medalist that she\u2019s doing it wrong. \n\nit\u2019s not a surprise if you see all the retweets he usually spends his time doing.— Rich (@Rich) 1627395378
@AintNathiel sorry bub. no dirty deleting allowed.pic.twitter.com/rvwbXxrATY— || Half eaten Baloney Sandwich || (@|| Half eaten Baloney Sandwich ||) 1627498881
Batsarashkina took home two gold medals during the Tokyo games for the 25-meter pistol and the 10-meter pistol events. She and Artem Chernousov together got silver for the 10-meter mixed team event.
This isn't the first time men have felt their opinion on the performance of women athletes is warranted online. Piers Morgan became the most hated man on the internet after he tried to insult Simone Biles for pulling out of some events due to mental health concerns.
Rather than be sympathetic to the athlete, Morgan chastised her and claimed she was making excuses for a mistake. The internet did not agree.
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