Within the late Nineteen Nineties, while nonetheless an adolescent, tennis sensation Anna Kournikova was the discuss of the sports world. With her beautiful looks and preternatural self-promotion acumen - and with the benefit of being positioned at the dawn of the Web age - the Russian-born beauty was able to cash in on her hype without winning a single professional tournament.

After all, this was roundly criticized by many, who requested why we should always pay so much consideration to someone who has by no means received anything. This at all times struck me as odd because, first, it is one's option to fall prey to apparent advertising methods, and second, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon at 16 (which Kournikova completed in 1997) is fairly impressive. The fact that she never realized her perceived potential - or possibly she did fulfill no matter potential she had - was a problem only for the cranky and envious observers.

What was the massive news? A conventionally lovely woman gets ridiculously disproportionate consideration from the sports activities media, which is controlled by men. Why blame Kournikova for reaping the benefits of her circumstances? And if she wasn't deemed worthy of coverage, why listen?

Distinction Kournikova with the Williams sisters, especially Serena. Few women have possessed the overwhelming psychological and bodily potential that Serena has. Yet for many, that is not sufficient to shower her with accolades. Discuss of her "perspective" or "aggressiveness" or that she "plays extra like a person," combined with occasional and never-so-delicate shades of prejudice, have cropped up throughout her unusually lengthy career on the prime of the sport. Granted, she has had her share of inglorious moments on court docket, however for the vast majority of the time, she's been a pillar of aggressive brilliance.

So past is prologue: It may possibly still be tough for a girl to get legitimate, balanced treatment from journalists and marketers. But infrequently, an athlete comes along who makes all of it too easy for all concerned.

Such is the case with 2010 Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, who was already a two-time World Cup champion by the age of 26. In the lead-as much as the Vancouver Video games, the native Minnesotan, who was reared from the time she was in the crib for Olympic glory, was the face of the ladies representing the U.S. With (sound familiar?) her blond good looks and outgoing persona, she was an advert company's dream.

After which she managed to - principally - reside up to the hype final February even despite a pre-Olympic injury. Though some thought she would take a number of gold medals, Vonn secured "just" the downhill, with crashes in the giant slalom and super-combined derailing her efforts.

However the one gold certified her advertising and marketing bona fides and gave her a guest-starring role on "Regulation and Order" - and promoting dollars and sporting immortality were hers.

But what's more impressive is that even after the World Cup titles, the profitable endorsement offers and all the glory heaped on such an simply marketable personality, Vonn has already had a spectacular 2010-11 campaign. On Saturday she nabbed her fourth victory of the season - in three disciplines - when she gained the downhill on the occasion in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria. It is rather potential that Vonn is headed to yet one more overall World Cup title. And if there was any doubt, she is now unquestionably the best American lady skier of all time.

What's somewhat disconcerting for all Olympic athletes is that when the Video games finish, except one participates in a sport similar to basketball, so do the eye and focus on the overwhelming majority of athletes and their sports. Snowboarding will not be precisely a featured sport on winter weekends in the U.S. And though Vonn will not be wanting for photographers' consideration, in relation to masking her accomplishments on the slopes, the attention is considerably missing kind her dwelling country's media.

The hypocrisy, double standards and blatant superficiality within the media aren't going away soon. However for individuals who take seriously the notion of ascribing such excessive reward to those who reach any arena, it's satisfying to see Vonn thrive beneath the strain of such expectations. But one wonders if even those expectations would have been there within the first place if she weren't so photogenic.

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