“Crypt Keeper That She Is”: Mariah Bell and the Media Framing of Age in the 2022 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships

Abstract

In 2022, Mariah Bell won the U.S. National Figure Skating Championship in women’s singles. Media coverage of her win and subsequent appointment to the U.S. Olympic figure skating team did not center on her performance; rather journalists primarily focused on the fact that Bell was the oldest woman to win a U.S. national title since 1927 and the oldest woman to compete in figure skating for the U.S. since 1928. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the media framing of Bell’s win connected to her age as well as Bell’s attempts to de-emphasize her age and reposition her win as evidence of her determination and experience. These competing frames serve as a backdrop to larger discussions about age and participation in sport.