The Embodiment of Athletic Mastery

Abstract

In the previous chapter I explored how the informants’ lives intersected with broad structural forces, the latter constricting or stretching the space in which people might encounter athletics, discover their aptitude for it and develop a durable athletic career. Gender and class were fundamental players in this dynamic process, underpinning the transformations which over time reconfigured formal athletic structures. However, these are not impersonal forces. To understand more fully how these transformations were made possible and literally made flesh, we need to turn our attention to the role played by agents themselves in forcing these changes. In particular, we are compelled, when listening to the athletes’ own stories, to pay attention to the role played by their body.