SHE did that!
I dedicate this blog post to the women who have gone above and beyond to shake down barriers and break records, and leave an unforgettable mark in the history books of sports. I love sports. I love to play it. I love to watch it. And I love to see women doing the damn thing on the court, on the field, on skates, or in the water. Today, we celebrate the women who have stepped into their purpose and owned it! These are some of my favourite women athletes of all time.
1. Heather Watson. Born 19 May 1992. Heather is a professional British tennis player who is currently Britain’s number 2. She won the Mixed Doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships alongside Henri Kontinen. On 14 October 2012, she won her first WTA singles title when she beat Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan in the final of the Japan Open, making her the first British female to win a WTA singles title since Sara Gomer in 1988. Her poise and openness about menstruation in sports is something I truly admire.
2. Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter. US Women’s Relay Team Every time I watch these women race at the Olympics I get goosebumps. These women are a dynamic force that made a new world record at the London Olympic Games in 2012, beating their closest competition Jamaica with a whopping 40.82s. Their teamwork and tenacity is something I truly admire and we can all learn from. Here’s the link about that killer world record breaking relay https://www.olympic.org/videos/team-usa-break-4x100-relay-world-record-highlights
3. Simone Biles. Born 14 March 1997 Simone is an American artistic gymnast. With a combined total of nineteen Olympic and World Championship medals, she is the most decorated American gymnast; beating Shannon Miller’s record of 1993. When she won at the Summer Olympics in Rio, Simone became the 6th woman to have won an individual all-around title at both the World Championships and the Olympic Games. And have you seen her smile? It is simply amazing!
4. Mokgadi Caster Semenya. Born 7 January 1991 As a South African middle distance runner, Caster holds the 2016 Olympic gold medal for the women’s 800m. At the World Championships in 2009, she won gold and again at the 2017 World Championships she beat her personal best record and finished with a time of 1:55:16. Caster was also the winner of the gold medal in the 800 metre events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics. You need to see this woman on the track to understand how effortlessly she does this. It’s beautiful and inspiring to watch her perform.
5. Serena Williams. Born 26 September 1981 Sis, where do I even begin… This woman holds 39 grand slam titles behind her name in singles, doubles and mixed doubles 23 of which she achieved solo. She is the most recent woman tennis player to have held all 4 Grand Slam titles simultaneously. On top of that Serena is also a five-time winner of the WTA Tour Championships in the singles division, and if that wasn’t enough she has also won four Olympic gold medals. Last year she did something that no woman is sports has ever done…she won the Australian Open while about 8 weeks pregnant with her first child. I mean whaaaat?!
Here's to you phenomenal women. I love you, I admire you and I aspire to be like you. Fearless, relentless and always striving to be the best version of myself that I can be.
