Written by Kaz Louise Stoner
As many of you know, March is a month dedicated to women’s history. It is an important month as women have endured many hardships throughout history that should we should constantly be exposed to. Of course, women cannot all be put under one category, and one month is simply not enough to celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of such a powerful gender.
However, UM Futsal sees this as good an opportunity as any to shed light on some female athletes, past and present, revolutionizing the world of sports.
Through all of their actions, women are almost always scrutinized. The world of sports is no different. These outstanding athletes are all but some who have overcome more obstacles than the track and field portion of the Olympic games yet continue to excel in their sport.
Simone Biles
4-time gold medalist and 1 time bronze from the Olympic Games, 19 World Championships, and many more titles to her name, Biles is THE gymnast of our generation. She is an American artistic gymnast holding the title of the most decorated American gymnast. She also set an America record for the most gold medals won in women’s gymnastics in a single Games. Biles continues to break records, push her technique and routines to the extreme, and time and time again, prove her excellence.
“A successful competition for me is always going out there and putting 100 percent into whatever I’m doing.”
Serena Williams
For most of us, a household name when growing up. Holding 23 Grand Slam singles titles and being the former number 1 women’s single tennis player between 2002-2017, Williams is widely regarded as the greatest female tennis player of all times. With an endless list of wins and accomplishments, Williams has been an extremely popular name in the tennis community and an advocate for female athletes of all shapes, sizes, and colours!
‘Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they’re afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive.’
Sue Bird
Bird is an Israeli-American basketball player holding the record for most assists in league history. Another athlete with an endless resume of accomplishments, notably four WNBA championships with her team Seattle Storm and four Olympic gold medals.
‘The only thing that I’ve really noticed in my own experience is just people kind of saying that a woman, when they react to something exciting, ‘Oh, that’s a masculine way of reacting’. And to me, that’s absurd. It’s like, that’s how humans – they get excited, and you yell and you jump and you flex. That’s what you do’
Alex Morgan
American soccer player, playing for the highest division in the United States of America soccer league besides having co-captained her team. Besides a long list of wins and accomplishments, Morgan is a two-time world cup winner and also an Olympic gold medalist from the London 2012 games. Morgan is also an advocate in bridging the wage gap in US soccer.
‘Always work hard, never give up, and fight until the end because it’s never really over until the whistle blows.’
Katie Ledecky
Swimming her way to 5 Olympic medals and 14 world championship gold medals, Ledecky is a popular name in the athletic community. Having attended her first Olympic games at just 15 years old and initiating her journey with a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle, she really did set the tone for a career full of accomplishments.
‘I don’t really compare myself to others. For me, it’s about not being afraid to set scary goals – goals that most people never even dream of – and then going out and chasing them.’
Local corner
Malta is no stranger to producing female athletes of high-esteem. Our local teams of football, rugby, handball, basketball, and many other sports are often involved in international competitions and leagues displaying their passion and talent and performing exceptionally. This is also true for individual sports like karate, track and field, gymnastics and many, many more. Local news outlets have recently been offering more exposure to these female athletes, well deservedly. We urge you to do your part by sharing our local athlete’s accomplishments and supporting these budding athletes.
Check out UoM Futsal’s previous article here!
