High jumper Isobel Pooley dishes about rude public reaction to her height

ISOBEL Pooley is a champion athlete who also happens to be well over six-foot tall. And for some reason people think that hurts her romantic prospects.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 01: Isobel Pooley of England celebrates winning silver in the Women's High Jump final at Hampden Park during day nine of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games on August 1, 2014 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

SHE’S a super-fit athlete, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist and is about to make her world championships debut.

But it seems whatever she does, people just can’t stop talking about high jumper Isobel Pooley’s body.

At 1.92m — or 6’3” — the statuesque 22-year-old Londoner is tall, but she just wants people to get over it.

“People swear and say: ‘She’s huge, have you seen that girl over there?’ And I want to turn round and say: ‘I’m not deaf,’” she told BBC Sport.

“It’s a part of my daily life. They say: ‘How tall are you?’ or just make pointless comments that don’t go anywhere like ‘You’re really tall aren’t you?’ ‘Aren’t you tall?’ ‘You’re massive.’

“People are just so rude without realising. They assume that it’s OK to point it out. It’s not kind ever to stop and stare at people, but that’s what us tall people have to endure.”

People are also quick to point out to Pooley her height could be a problem when trying to land a date.

“I hate it when people say: ‘How are you ever going to find a boyfriend?’ assuming that he has to be taller. Why do we have to think the man has to be the big guy? There are big women and small men.”

Pooley says she admires tennis star Serena Williams because “she is a goddess in her body”.

“She is big compared to your average woman, but nobody would say she is not beautiful,” she said.

“Her beauty is practical too, where you are not judging it on what it looks like but what it can do, and I think that’s a really healthy principle to take into wider society.

“For me it’s not about looking thin, it’s about jumping high. If I reach the point where I’m super light and unhealthy, that’s not a positive situation to be in. It’s about being the best athlete I can be.”

Pooley after winning silver in the women’s high jump final at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

While she conceded her teenage years were “an incredibly difficult time” for dealing with body image and self confidence issues, Pooley now uses her height to her advantage.

It’s what helped her set a new British outdoor record of 1.97m at the British Championships earlier this month, and what will help drive her towards the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

And that’s not the only thing she has going for her — Pooley just graduated from the University of Nottingham with a first in animal science.

So while she still can’t stand the negative commentary about her lofty height, she has definitely learnt to embrace it.

“Sport is fantastic for flipping those nasty comments on their head,” Pooley said.

“A fundamental philosophy of being an athlete is ‘control the controllables’ and if you can’t change something all you can change is your attitude towards it.

“When people say to my mum: ‘Oh you’re daughter’s awfully tall,’ she replies: ‘Yes, and she’s British champion in the high jump.’”

Pooley will next compete at next month’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing.

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova is 6’2” (188cm).

Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic is 6’4” (193cm).