Preston Olympian Holly Bradshaw backs new coverage guidelines for female athletics
Preston Olympian Holly Bradshaw has shared her first hand experience of the abuse she has received following some unflattering coverage as new guidence for broadcasters comes out...
An Olympic athelete from Preston has spoken in support of new guidelines onthe coverage of female athletics events.
This week, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in collaboration with European Athletics and various female athletes, released new guidelines for broadcasters on how to use more respectful camera angles when covering live female athletics events.
Retired Preston born pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw, 34, was one of the athletes consulted in the report, named Raising the Bar: Guidelines for Respectful Media Coverage in Women's Athletics, alongside Serbian long jumper Ivana Španović and Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlašić.
In the report, Olympic gold medalist Holly, who grew up in Chorley, said: “How our sport is displayed during live broadcast can be incredibly powerful yet sometimes harmful to the women competing and the women/girls watching. I first-hand have received social media abuse and witnessed inappropriate videos online of myself and colleagues when slow-motion content of us competing is captured.
“Athletes want to enjoy themselves doing the sport they love without feeling uncomfortable or anxious about the footage being shown live. Many athletes, myself included have been in competitive scenarios where they are more focused on the cameras instead of their own performance.
“There are so many different angles to be shown of our sport that can highlight how technical and impressive these field events and athletes are, however on too many occasions cameras are zoomed in, showing super slow-motion action replays of athletes in undignified positions.”
Former Parklands High School and Runshaw College pupil Holly was a fifteen-time national champion during her pole vaulting career, and won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics, alongside various European Championships medals.
She retired from the sport in 2024 and now co-owns the speciality coffee cart Ookin.
In July last year, Holly and her husband Paul Bradshaw also welcomed their first child, a little boy named Sebastian Christopher Bradshaw.
Just two weeks ago she shared an adorable set of photos of Sebastian alongside the caption “Happy 1st Birthday my gorgeous, crazy little boy”.
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In the report, EBU Sport‘s Executive Director Glen Killane said : “The sexualization of women athletes through selective camera angles and editing choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts. Lingering shots on bodies, low-angle cameras that capture revealing views, and excessive slow-motion replays that serve no technical or storytelling purpose are among the issues observed in the media coverage of women’s athletics competitions today.
“These choices carry profound implications. They shape audience perception by diverting attention from the remarkable achievements and technical skills of women athletes, and risk perpetuating harmful stereotypes.”
The EBU report then outlines dos and dont’s for high jump, pole vault, horizontal jumps and running events coverage which you can read in full here.