why women tracksters should be like actresses

[Smoke]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

You guys are all over the map with this and have yet to ask a question.
She is officially Sanya Ross, no hyphen. (She posted it to twitter) However on the track she will hyphenate her name.
SOme of you ask why. Simple, recognition and familiarity. Last names are what we look to first most times and female athletes are very conscious of this. In the cases I know of, this conversation has been had by the husband and wife going in. And yes it is a big deal because she has to register the change with the iaaf and usatf so her results are recorded properly, money paid right, travel documents correct, etc.

[26mi235]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

In general I have found that the older that a woman marries, the more likely she is to retain her last name, especially in a professional/academic world. In fact, I can hardly think of an academic that changed their name if they got married after starting their professional life (e.g., after getting a PhD).

[Vault-emort]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

Maybe all female tracksters and fieldsters and walksters and roadsters and multieventsters should take the name Spartacus...

[polevaultpower]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

I made my maiden name a middle name and took my husband's last name (so both show up on my ID, but I only have one last name). I use both (not hyphenated) for professional stuff, but just my new name for regular stuff.

[mcgato]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

A number of married women that I work with maintain their birth name at work, but either use their husband's last name or a hyphenated name outside of work. Doesn't seem to cause any problems and helps them maintain a consistent professional presence.

[gh]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

One of my daughter's teammates has the last name Pflasterer-Jennerjohn; what if she marries someone with a long name and they hyphenate it. The poor girl could not spell her last name until she was ten (and neither could her teachers), and it has never been displayed on the scoreboard in full.

When discus thrower Gail Zaphiropoulos married shot putter Bishop Dolegiewicz, she said to me, "don't piss me off or I'll make you squeeze Zaphiropoulos-Dolegiewicz into your lists every month."

[CookyMonzta]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

HEY! Was Sherri Howard ever married? She became an actress. You might remember seeing her in The Scorpion King, alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Michael Clarke Duncan.

[gh]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

By the way, was there an announcement somewhere that Sanya is going by Richards-Ross now?

yes; i made it in the post that started this thread. It came directly from an e-mail from her mother.

[vip]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

And Chris Evert-Lloyd became Chris Evert all over again.

[vip]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

Of course, by going with the hyphenated name, an athlete runs the risk of someday having to drop the third name due to, um, matrimonial difficulty, shall we say. Alright: divorce.

I remember haw awkward it looked when Valerie Brisco-Hooks suddenly turned back into Valerie Brisco.

[texas_speed]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

By the way, was there an announcement somewhere that Sanya is going by Richards-Ross now?

[texas_speed]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

I think it works both ways. You either keep it all together or just go with the married last name. I hate the hyphenated ones personally.

Jenn Stuczynski now goes by her married name of Suhr.
Anna Willard now goes by her married name of Pierce.
Marshevet Hooker now goes by her married name of Myers.
Tiffany Ross was once Ross-Williams and now runs under just her married name of Williams.

Particularly in Sanya's case, had she just gone to Sanya Ross not much would have to change for her at all. Her engagement and pending marriage had been the topic of every track broadcast and interview....hell her intials wouldn't even change (still SR). I think it comes down to a matter of personal preference. In a sport like track, I really don't see how changing your name to your married name can ever hurt you. If anything, it gives you a chance to kind of "re-define" yourself as you have an opportunity to talk about your off the track life and it even gives commentators something to talk about....even if briefly.

I personally don't see how any of the 3 options, retaining the maiden name, changing to the married name only or hyphenating the name can really hurt you. I'm just personally a fan of only having one name. Easier to remember and not as much of a mouthful for the commentators. Let's be real here: track & field athletes really aren't "superstars" to anyone other than the people on message boards and those who frequently follow the sport. The casual person flipping through channels has no idea who the Sanya's, Allyson's, Carmelita's and Lauryn's of the world are. Most don't know anyone outside of Bolt.

[Powell]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

People in Spain take both their father's and mother's last names and hyphenate it. This is the standard.

It may be the standard in passports, but they don't use two names in day-to-day dealings. The vast majority of Spanish-speaking athletes use only one last name.

Why are so many american so against hyphenated names? Why should a woman just delete her family's name and take the new one.

gh's suggestion in the opening post of the thread was exactly the opposite. If you want to be recognizable to the general public, it makes sense not to change your name. And your name will be remembered more easily if it's shorter.

[ponytayne]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

Ugh. This is a very bad trend that shows no sign of ending. They really should take one name or the other and be done with it. What happens if a track woman marries a man who already has a hyphenated name? I sure hope Chris Douglas-Roberts of the New Jersey Nets or Darius Heyward-Bey of the Oakland Raiders don't have eyes for one of our established female athletes.

People in Spain take both their father's and mother's last names and hyphenate it. This is the standard. Why are so many american so against hyphenated names? Why should a woman just delete her family's name and take the new one. Come into the most recent 30 years please.

[Gabriella]

Re: why women tracksters should be like actresses

Yes, but imagine if Sigrun Wodars had stayed as Sigrun Grau, we wouldn't have been able to say Wachtel and Wodars and that was one of my favourite things about the GDR (along with Anke Behmer's plaited pony-tail) :P