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.
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.
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.
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.
