1997_12 Insight December 1997

              SPORTS & NEWS -
1997
Swimmer overcomes anorexia and opponents
by Mai VakSsz
MB* rVrr'o*
Her every waking minute is spent
A girt 5-feet. 6-mches tall hut
weighing 95 pounds A young woman
who (hdn'i have her period for four
years She tnes to wake up thinner
than the night before, so she won't he
aMe to "pinch an inch
Sounds like a Sunday night movie
of the week"*
For Deanna Vnudouns. 22-year-old
Fresno State student and swimmer,
this lifestyle was reality, and weight
was her obsession. It was a personal
victory for her to always lose weight
every tome she stepped on a scale.
By the time she was
was anorexic
She is not alone Al any given time,
as many as rwo out of five female athlete* have at least one eating disor
der Female athletes are more prone
to eating disorders than their non- athletic counterparts, according ro Keith
Nichols, author of 'What is the Relationship Between Eating Disorders
and Female Athletes "
Gymnasts, swimmers, dancers,
cross-country runners and figure skat
ere are the athletes with the most eat
sag disorder* Nichols reports a cor
n sports that
se a low percentage of body
fat and a tendency toward eating drs
The need for athletes to excel and
today's ideology for female thinness
combine to increase the percentage of
female athletes with eating disorders,
wrote scholar D Williamson
Williamson researched an article
ahour Srnxtural Equation Modeling
of Risk Factors for the Development
of Eating Disorder Symptoms m Female Athlete* "
But in time, Vbudouns defeated tta
disease. Wittan tta last two years, she
to* been able to regata central of tor
life, aad now she is one of four senior* on tta Fresno State swim team
Vtoudouris' proMems started after
she had her appendix removed at the
age of 14. She lost a lot of weight.
tsMawajsNarnedonthesurgerv Even
after recorerirrtf. Vnudouns continued
to lose weight
I liked everybody noticing my
weight "oss," she said "I tried to lose
more weigh! so people would keep iwi
noticing It became a game for me "
She played the game so well that
her mom started to worry As each
week of tor Tth-grade year went by,
Voudouris grew thinner and thinner
She refused 10 admit that she had a
problem, and credited her weight loss
to h» involvement in basketball, track
and swimming
"I told my mom. Everyone warns
to he skinny,'" voudouris said
'7 wanted to get better, but every
time I ate I had an intense feeling of
guilt because I was going to be faL "
— Deanna vbudtntris,
Fresno Stale swimmer
Voudouris found methods to make
people think that she was eating If
she ripped up her food and pushed it
around while eating, it appeared that
she had eaten more than she actually
had
With less than a half-cup of non
fat yogurt and two bite* of a sandwich
in her stomach, she would go lo her
workouts after school
When it was time for dinner,
Voudouris would eat with her family
She used a lot of rhe rncks she had
picked up lo fool her family into
thinking that she was eating
Losing weight became a form of
competition
Other people became factored into
Voudouris  compulsion  Sta would
watch what other people would eat.
then try to em le«* Man Mem Atprac
tjce she would watch how hard people
would practice and sta would practice even harder.
This led to Voudouris becoming an
excessive exerciser and an extremely
tight eater
The weight loss affected her ath
letic endeavors immensely Vuudouns
was still involved in basketball, track
and swimming She found herself too
tired for practices and got worse in
everything she tried to do
I didn't care, weight was so much
more important than everything else."
she explained
Voudouris' disorder landed her in
the hospital on May 14. IWforthree
weeks When she was admitted.
Voudouris weighed *)5 pounds
Her hospnal stay consisted of prt
vate therapy, group therapy and any
thing else that could poasmty teach
Voudouris that anorexia is a mental
disease, with the lack of eating only
1 wanted to get better, tot every
time I ate I had aa intense feeling of
guilt because I was going to he fat."
she said
Every waking momem arm SMMt
worrying about how the wm going
to get fat Even though Voudouris wm
no longer M the hospital, she continued to have relapses throughout tor
The doctors told her she would he
if she dropped below
I05poa*td»
*1 toted being in the hospital he
reuse Mey would force me to eat and
she said
The eating disorder
Voudouris' need to have control over
something in her life She felt thai
everybody always did everyMmg for
her because the we* Me y outage M ta
her family
She considered her weight a con
trot game the played against tarsett
and sjretytody around her
Not only did tta weight loss affect
voudouris' athletic abilities, it also
stunted her growth and delayed the
onset of puberty. Sta barely hit pu
hem at age 13 and tton sta didn't
have anotherpenod until sta was 17
The swimmer's social life was al
most M dysfunctional as her body
I vers where she went. *vowdoertt
Thought MM people were calling her
tat Her life was focused on beating
everybody at the "game" so she
tended to try too hard to have friends
The harder I tried to get people to
, the more it seemed I was
alone." Vbudouns said
Sta entered high school end badly
wanted to swim Tta doctor* told tor
that the would have to keep her
weight same H5poand* M order to
belong to the team
After Set recruit trig to Fresno sad ftovel I
State. Vbudouns knew that sta wm a satd
Bulldog Vbudouns signed her letter An
of MMM and sttueed *wt*n coach
DanMflahteMMstawmna^recov' proved tor MtoM by I
rnrvl BtfSS her pre.*.his .liseav-
A flesh start
In the fall of 1904. Voedeari* to he at*
started tor freshmen year at Fresao »t*atoaMm*a*M) r*m>***dra**pom
State  Everything wet so new She Meteam"
was away from home for tta Bret
time, grouped with a caliber of ath TSa M9V thaSMMt
tetes MM sta tod never been around ffSit seeaoa. VtatluMii at a a
before
but she wa* not the best Tta day* enceagaMSMa
were long aitd ate tiaMiB« emtMrd eteMtoftatdBta
Sta began to MM w**ata age**, aad       Vbedotstrj.tog
trod* art tta oMmtartanMar* tad e*** aad Mnmgi
to get Met* tody fat terncd every six oped os-er tta year* and
Tta swimmer wa* lonely, a
...mused mM *nSW****
I overwtabned by the       Ttopi«*MMiltadNt*tolMc«ae*a
whole experience The need for con     none of my cenMMSan enMriMaed
but       TwamtotastaktofaMBgsrBgsv
round that she had not made any real    tag ttatmgS tta ***** MMg Mat 1 warn
fri-fJMs. Sot Wmmmm 10 JO nOMV BsMty.,      mWQ-m*Jp*
FANS: It s all about the thrill of the game for die-hards
npagel
gist Jennifer Lendl. who travels around the
United Stales working with elite athletes as
well as sport* teams
"With college sports, it's all about who
bnngs in the money for the school.' LsMB
said from her office tn San Jose "As long as
the team is winning, the big alumni donors
are supporting "
Tom Oranau. a local psychologist who has
taught sports psychology classes at f resno
State, taid there i* a broad spectrum of fans.
from "those who would he offended if a player
swear*, to those who would look rhe other way
if he raped his girlfriend
"For some fans, if a player has assaulted
his girlfriend that's not important as long as
he scores his *fj points and gets his 10 re
bounds." Granaia said
Another reason for some fans' unshakable
support is that being a fan is Uke being a mem
tor of a family, said Fresito family therapist
Charles O'Neal
"I am a 49*rs fan." O'Neal said I belong
to that big family That s pretty powerful stuff
when you live in a society where family and
belonging may he scarce for a lot of people "
Society's lowenng its standard* for whet is
expected of decent, law-abiding citirem also
* to f« devotion. O'Neal said He
added that people have become desensitized with the law I think he's sending a message thinks Mem fan* are m Me tmnority. toss*re*
to violence and (abet breathes ot the law at that he s not going w put up wbh Mat stuff," The notion that aramdaarc drop* when
ter seeing repeated depictions ot violence he said "They are trying to matte these kid*
I resno family therapist I em Belcher accountable lor rheir action*"
Belshay agreed One fan who has withdrawn support for the down 31[percent tMa yarn ce*af*a>ed to 199*1.
"TV has taught us us turn our emotions off Mhlotu IVparinwnt is Jeanne Collins, a when ihe Bulldogs tied for tta Western *»fh
and go into denial." she said former five year member of ihe Bulldog tetic Conference btle
Adam Zand, publicity director for North-    Foundation.
isrem I niversitys Center for the Study of        "It * ma nght MM
Study of "It\ not'nght that *hotar*tap* are given to TBe affects e# a I
Sport in Society, said sport* are a microcosm kid* who are in tioubie," she sted "There are This year Me team tod a b-S record and
too many other athletes who do not get tmo sncaaSstc* averaged 24.000 w a siadtam MM
"We (researchers | don r think athletes are trouble and would he fust a* good on tta team holds more than 41 Otto
more prone to drug »huse or domestic m.> it \<*i gave them a chance.** Basketball iniaMMtH Mtd rSMMhM* taw*
lence rhan anyone else." /and said .dded that even though most of the been up following last year's 20 12 team
athtetkteams are not having hetovior proh record aad tta team'* appearance in the Na
Some tern disagree t**h tax eftfeide terns, she won t donate »the ttoSeag Peee tioael MvSanonal Tournament in %<•* \.^k
Not all fans interviewed had a  my school, dation as long a* even oa* team i* having he BM Tarkaman *atd ta w** not able to re
nght or wrong"" attitude Many were al least hav tor pi utlteMS
mildly ciitx-emed aNvui the betas k* of Fresno" "I would rather give it to tta *4e*»c Depart pressed I
State athletes, and at least one said the Ath ment or s.*nething else." sta tatd "We got shut oat M recntSMg." Tsrkaman
lettc Departmem has already begun to clamp Alumna Virginia Dix. a Bulldog fas "for told rnemhers of tta T"tme (tat CMS M Mew
down sufficiemty on errant athletes ever," stops short of withdrawing tor **sppcrt recent Tta Off latacheoa -Tta* poMt *Sev
Chris StotMxm of Tulare, a 1991 graduate, forme Bulldog FoundatHvn because of rite ac rag tos caeasd m aB ttmri* of probttmx, tot
the Fresno State basketball and tionsof some individuals She also disagree* w* cm tuoi that amund
WiMMtoll games with his brothers. Trevor and with lans who believe winning is everyrismg Fresno Stare AtStetK Dircctot Al BoSI
piake, alio alumni MM about the program aad tta «**eed Mat Me aScgMtom have t—id Ml rail ■
| Football coach| Pat Hill woni stand for university than atom ammng." sta tatd Mg pt'nbteaa
any nonseme." Shannon said  "His plavers Dix said tans who are highly cornpetrtive What do you Mmk Aetatea and Artomva*
have to go to class ' sre eBea Me earn who Map stoeMg *p for |rexruitec*| were saying about Fresno State*
Tarkanian to* suspended guy stor brushes games when the team isn't winning  She Bob! satd "They d always warn hi irtaketure
SMM| *MjM go Ml P
They tatd Tack might am ta tore Mm t*
because of aM Mm sari Mat w* wea'i ta d
to go to tta tc
Many fans agned wM*» toM even I*
thev m*v not have known tta players
When Tta Fresno Bee repisnad Me prnm
shaving allegattoe* last March, awn M
people called Tta Be*
Sports editor John Sab stud atom SO per
ccm of Me c alters to spoke to ***** *agry a
Tta Bet tea prMM*g Ma teary. and atom X
mmmm ***** MfpmS' i of The Bee'* Sac*
Students can catch up by
taking winter classes
by Victor Hernandez
student must have met course
prerequisites and he a high school
frataMf or at tenet IS years old
Students at Fresno State and caber
s are eligible ba winter
1 M are teachers with valid
Tta to*im n mainr found MM California teaching credentials
foMSMsreofwaBtagria^oughrite 1-Q|»cr wm Mta to earn a passing
Frre Speech Ai-m to gM to cla**e*        ****,***"* ST" *W"
wa* long enough He needed to and grsdeMe **aS Ms MMM*
finish line as I am ao glad ttang* worked out
atotwm able to bypass my last
for Lope*, along with     ♦***mea*«>y ****•• <*** ***«„
Maaat.OOOoaterFremoState tta*rmimbreak, tatam *1ttMaTy
.   .   . .^j.     s..,t  u helped me hexause the soneter I was
emflsms eaca **ar ore**, is
^ ^^ „i«.^. finnMed M Pwano State, tta sooner
winter session uavsrs . ,.,. ....,■■. .
While mo*t college students will      ' co**w *** ™y c***
mmm
working extra tour* to gay tat
Mayre dme to gratasbrmaad m        ^^^^^^
essd of s nam pa*a tor retnerrung        . ^..._ .....       ^ »..._ ....
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