Ohuruogu: women turned off sport by celebrity lifestyle images

Ohuruogu told BBC Radio 5 live: “The best thing we can do is show them the benefits of doing sport – whether at elite level or recreational level where you are just trying to keep fit and stay healthy.

“That’s what is troubling, that more needs to be done to work out why these girls are not accessing sport at a recreational level.”

The 2008 Olympic champion added: “We wonder how come the Olympic Games, the biggest competition in the world, came to London and it’s not gained much traction. [It is] because there are bigger and better images that are grabbing these young people’s attention.

“It’s not their fault, it’s our fault – it’s the media’s fault, the TV, magazines, the setting out these images of what women should be like and how life is going to be. On the one hand we’re saying go out and do sport and maybe hurt yourself, get injured, lose – I don’t think it’s them at fault, it’s us doing them a disservice.”

According to the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation, 80% of women are not doing enough exercise to stay healthy.

It also says that only 5% of sports media coverage is devoted to women’s sport and just 0.5% of commercial investment goes to women-only sport.

However, over 60% of sports fans say they would like to see more women’s sport on the TV.

The Parliamentary committee heard from witnesses including triathlete Chrissie Wellington, with the first session focused on the main barriers that exist and the disadvantages women’s sport faced compared with sport for men.

Ohuruogu told 5 live there were unique challenges associated with young women.