Recent Posts
Inspiration June 4, 2018
They're changing the world by example.
If you’re ever looking for an example of powerful, successful women who are paving the path for future generations, look towards female athletes of our time.
These women have dedicated themselves to thriving in male-dominated fields, pushed passed the various inequalities that have worked against them and have still succeeded. They’ve poured their soul and energy into their passion and it’s time to acknowledge their efforts.
Here are three incredible female athletes changing the world through hard work and by example.
Serena Williams is one of the most ground-breaking tennis players of our generation. She has won the second-most singles titles in women’s Grand Slam tournaments — the fourth-most important annual tennis event — of all time. She even won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant!
After having a child in September 2017, Serena Williams returned to the tennis courts for her first Grand Slam tournament. Not only that, but she gave it her all and won in her first match, which was against Czech Republic’s Kristyna Pliskova at 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Her husband Alexis Ohanian posted encouraging words on Instagram for her first Grand Slam since her leave, accompanied by a photo of Williams in her eye-catching black catsuit.
The catsuit is practical in that it is designed to help with circulation after William’s blood clot problems since giving birth. However, in an interview after the match, Williams said her catsuit represents “all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce in the middle of, you know, everything. That’s what this represents … You can’t beat a catsuit, right?”
This supermama tennis player is here and ready to prove that women really can do it all.
Like Williams, American race car driver Danica Patrick has been shattering glass ceilings and paving the way for women in sports her entire career. At the age of 10, Patrick took up racing as a way to spend time with her family. Now, she is one of the most successful women in her sport. In fact, according to NPR, after winning the 2008 Indy Japan 300, she became the only woman to have won an IndyCar Series race.
May 2018’s Indianapolis 500 was the last race of her career. Unfortunately, during lap 68 of 200, Patrick crashed and was unable to finish. Though her last race was marked with heartbreak and disappointment, her entire career was quite the opposite.
She leaves her racing career with these optimistic and reflective words: “This is just a chapter in the book. Today feels heavy, but only because the chapter finishing has meant so much to me. Thank you for the memories. I am at a lack of words today.”
Though she is retiring, she is far from turning to a leisurely life at home. She’s leaving the racing world to focus on her work as an entrepreneur. Not only did she recently publish her book “Pretty Intense“, she is also working on many projects such as Warrior, her athletic-wear clothing line and her wine company Somnium.
She is an example of what is means to strive and succeed as a woman in a male-dominated field and to step down and move on to better things when the time comes.
Simone Biles has been called the best gymnast in the world on several occasions, and not without reason. At just 21 years old, she ranks third among top female medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships by total medals won. She is also the first-ever woman to be the all-around world champion three years in a row. When she was 19 years old, she earned four gold medals in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and, along with swimmer Katie Ledecky, was the most decorated female athlete there.
On top of her incredible athletic achievements, she is also a voice for the abused. She was one of many young women who were brave enough to speak out about Larry Nassar’s serial sexual assault. She showed an immense amount of strength in sharing her innermost struggle with the world for the sake of helping others avoid the same experience.
Since her first Olympics, Simone Biles has taken the time to just be a young woman growing and learning about herself. And she keeps moving forward. She is currently training to compete for the first time in nearly two years at the U.S. Classic on July 28th in Ohio. As she has been training, she states, “I guess I would say I am better than I was in Rio.” Her new goal is to make it to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Simone Biles has become an all-around role model for young girls throughout the world, showing that hard work and perseverance really do pay off.
