Claire Bachelder

For the past four years, Claire Bachelder has dedicated much of her free time to competing for Seven Hills’ varsity track and soccer teams. Next year, she plans to continue her athletic career at Vassar College as a member of the women’s track and field team.

While Bachelder hasn’t personally experienced unequal treatment due to her gender, she feels that the Seven Hills community in general holds male and female athletes to entirely different standards, especially during track season. Unlike other sports, track is incredibly reliant on times and numbers. Because of this, Bachelder feels that her and her teammates’ accomplishments are often discredited because their times vary drastically from their male counterparts. This discrepancy is connected to a broader gender-related trend in track statistics, and occurs largely due to the biological and anatomical differences that separate men and women.

A lack of understanding has certainly contributed to the misconceptions surrounding the abilities of female track runners. “It’s become clear to me the difference between men’s and women’s natural abilities,” said Bachelder, “and I think even when women work harder and are better comparatively [they] are not fully appreciated because of their times.”

In her opinion, education is key to combatting the false narratives surrounding women’s sports. Bachelder believes it’s important to highlight the biological components that give men and women advantages in certain situations. “By understanding these inherent differences, we can better appreciate the athletic talent and abilities of both male and female athletes,” she explains.