Minority report: Why does women’s sport have to play second fiddle?

DERVAL O'ROURKE: Sometimes I feel as if I’m part of a secret club.

It’s a popular club with a large membership but very little exposure — it’s the club of women’s sport. You could be forgiven for thinking not very many women actually take part in competitive sport. We don’t fill the sports pages of newspapers nor do we grace tv screens every weekend. The numbers may not be as high as men’s sport but participation is certainly not proportionate to the levels of exposure. In many ways, I’m hugely fortunate to be involved in a sport that offers equal pay and coverage for men and women. Track and field is a sport I’ve always found fair.

However, I believe being a successful sportswoman can be a more complicated affair than being a successful sportsman. One of the first aspects society appears to judge sportswomen on is not their ability or performance but their physical appearance and level of attractiveness. I have had the odd nasty comment on Twitter or online posts over the years but thankfully the positive comments have always outweighed the negative. Unfortunately, not so for some very accomplished sportswomen.