Demi Vollering stands up for compatriot Thymen Arensman: 'That is part of being human'

Thymen Arensman is keeping the Dutch hopes alive in this Giro d’Italia, all while the Netcompany INEOS rider is not being seen or heard from much in the media. That has sparked debate, because surely media duties are just part of the sport these days? Demi Vollering backs her compatriot and made that clear in an extensive statement.

"The more perfectly an athlete behaves in public, the more we seem to reward them for it," the European champion begins in a post on LinkedIn. "And I think that says a lot about the world we live in today. The recent discussions around Thymen Arensman during the Giro d’Italia got me thinking about that again."

"For last year he spoke openly and emotionally about the pressure and mental struggles. This year he is being almost completely shielded from the media. And honestly... I understand it," Vollering admits plainly. "It also made me think of athletes like Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles and Jutta Leerdam. Different sports, different personalities, but similar conversations about pressure, visibility, vulnerability and public opinion."

The Dutch rider knows better than most what it takes to be an elite athlete. "Athletes are now expected to perform under enormous pressure, while at the same time remaining constantly visible, available and emotionally composed. But what happens when someone does not fit the image of the 'perfect athlete' that people expect?"

"Or: what happens when an athlete is emotional, sensitive or simply honest about their struggles? Too often, vulnerability becomes the headline. Emotion becomes clickbait. And nuance disappears. Of course not all media is like that," Vollering stresses. "There are still many journalists who genuinely care about the person behind the athlete. But the reality is that the media landscape has changed enormously".

The Dutchwoman lays it out: "Attention has become the currency. Speed beats nuance. Emotion drives clicks. And because of that, athletes are more media-trained than ever. More cautious. More filtered. Less themselves. Not always because they want to be. But because they quickly learn what can happen when they truly open up".

And Vollering sees that as a missed opportunity for society. "Because the struggles elite athletes face are often the same struggles many people experience in their own lives. Pressure. Expectations. Fear of failure. Anxiety. Self-doubt. The only difference is that athletes experience it in public."

"And perhaps many other people would feel less alone if athletes spoke more openly about those struggles, without being judged or ending up as a headline," says the European champion. "Being vulnerable should not be seen as weakness. It is part of being human. And perhaps sport becomes even more powerful when we stop expecting athletes to look mentally unbreakable, and simply let them be themselves".