ABSTRACT
Introduction ‘The mass media’, writes Olympic scholar Helen Jefferson Lenskyj, ‘undoubtedly play a central role in keeping the Olympics in the news and disseminating information on Olympic issues’ (2008, 4). Furthermore, she argues, media ‘are largely responsible for the social construction of the lasting images and memories that audiences retain after the Games are over’ (22). Many media commentators championed the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as the breakout Games for women athletes. USA Today unequivocally declared, ‘Women were the big winners’ at London 2012 (August 13, 2012). In a New York Times op-ed titled ‘Women’s Time to Shine’, columnist Frank Bruni remarked that at the London Olympics ‘Girl power gets its sweaty, sinewy due’. He admired the way the sport festival ‘showcases and celebrates the athleticism of women almost as much as it does the athleticism of men’ (July 22, 2012).
