British Olympic long-distance running great Liz McColgan has hit back at online trolls after they body-shamed her daughter Eilish.
34-year-old Eilish, who is currently preparing for the London Marathon in April, posted a video on her social media channels on Saturday, which led to some users to comment questioning whether the four-time Olympian had an eating disorder.
The Scottish star, Commonwealth 10,000m champion in 2022, was quick to respond to the comments as she said: “Some people have no comprehension of how much you have to fuel your body to do this type of training. Bunch of clowns.”
Stop the jealousy – Liz McColgan
Eilish’s mother, Liz, who is also her coach, a former 10,000m World Champion and Olympic silver medallist in Seoul in 1988, went public too as she met the trolls head on with a strongly-worded post on Linkedin.
“There are some very naturally tall slim women in the world, as well as shorter plumper women. We come in all shapes and sizes,” she said.
‘Ridiculous abusive comments’
“They obviously do not understand that being an elite runner brings lower body fat, but being an idiot and not fully understanding that your body needs to be fueled properly by eating – or your body will not perform especially for marathons.
“Stop the jealousy and abuse of women athletes online by posting ridiculous abusive comments.
“My concern as a parent is not for Eilish as she is of a strong enough character to deal with these people. My concern is for other kids, athletes that are not so strong of character to deal with demeaning and abusive comments on their appearance.”
