Julia Mancuso, do you know who she is?

In the March 8, 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine Dan Patrick interviewed Olympic skier Julia Mancuso. Julia won silver medals in the downhill and combined races. To add to the gold medal she won in 2006. The first three questions were regarding the medals. Then he asked about the tiara that she wears. Next he asked why she was not in the Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit issue like the other women skiers. She confessed that she was not asked but that, “Definitely it’s something that would be cool to be in.” The next question was whether she would want the painted on suit or a real bikini. She replied that, “I’m down [for the painted bikini] with the top.” The discussion turned to the reported tension between her and Lindsey Vonn. While she defended their relationship as completely professional, she admitted that she does feel that she should have received more media coverage for her accomplishments. Besides the obviously gendered interview, this article made me question the real reason behind Julia posing or not posing for Sport’s Illustrated. She voices her frustration about the lack of media coverage of her accomplishments in comparison to that of Lindsey Vonn. Why was she covered less? Could it be that Lindsey Vonn exemplifies the image more than Julia that media wants to portray? Let’s not forget, that part of an athlete’s career is how much they are in the public eye. Do women like Lindsey and Julia have the ability to turn down the Sport’s Illustrated swimsuit shoot, if they want to keep their career at the top?