7 important women in sports

By Ayanna Riley
July 12, 2021

Women’s sports have existed for centuries throughout history, even during a time when women were actively barred from participating in competitive sports. Since Title IX’s implementation in 1972, women have been able to gain more access into competitive sports. Although Women’s History Month is over, it is never too late to celebrate all the achievements and milestones that women have made throughout history, especially in sports. To celebrate women’s achievements in sports throughout history, here is a compiled list of seven women who have broken through barriers, reached milestones and made history in the competitive arena of sports. 

Nilima Ghose, 1952 Olympics

1.) Nilima Ghose (Track and field)

Born in 1935, Nilima Ghose became the first Indian woman to compete in the Olympic Games. She spent much of her childhood training in track and field. At just 16 years old, she made history when she participated in the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics on July 21, 1952. She was slated to take part in the 100 meter sprint and 80 meter hurdles, and although a run time of 13 and a half seconds could not pass her to the next round, Nilima Ghose has still made history as not only the first Indian woman to compete in the Olympic Games, but also the first teenage Indian woman. Nilima was awarded the Dhyan Chand Award, India’s highest award for lifetime achievement, in 2013 for her milestone achievement 60 years earlier. Since then, many other Indian women have followed her in terms of achievements, including Mary D’Souza Sequeira (who competed alongside her), Dolly Nazir, Arati Saha, Karnam Malleswari (the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal), and many others. 

 

Billie Jean King at Madame Tussaud's New York
“Billie Jean King at Madame Tussaud’s New York” by InSapphoWeTrust is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

2.) Billie Jean King (Tennis)

Born in 1943, Billie Jean King made history when she won the famously titled “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match against Bobby Riggs in 1973. As a young girl, Billie Jean had always excelled at sports, particularly softball and baseball. At age 11, switched her focus to tennis and began competing at 15, working with 8-time Grand Slam winner Alice Marble. Her parents repeatedly encouraged her to take a more “ladylike” sport, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream of becoming “the best tennis player in the world.” In 1966, Billie Jean won her first major singles championship in the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championship after defeating Maria Bueno in a game of 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. She worked tirelessly to defend her new title as champion, eventually rising to No. 1 ranking in women’s tennis after winning three consecutive tournaments at the end of her Australian tour. In 1972, she claimed three Grand Slam wins in one year. Billie Jean cemented herself in women’s sports history when she beat men’s champion Bobby Riggs in a televised spectacle of an event known as the Battles of the Sexes. The match was tuned in by an audience of more than 50 million viewers, and the famous match was even adapted into a film by the same title 43 years later. 

 

Senda Berenson;
https://unladylike.co/blog/2017/10/18/never-heard-of-her-senda-berenson

3.) Senda Berenson Abbot (Basketball)

Seren Berenson was born in 1868 in a small Jewish community (shtetl). Senda was always a physically frail child. She even had to quit being a music teacher just to keep up with her health. When she was admitted into the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics in 1890 to improve her health through exercise, she initially hated it, but she later came to realize how useful they would be for her and continued with the program. Her health improved significantly from this and from then on, she believed in the power of exercise. At 23, she began teaching gymnastics at the Smith College in Northampton when she learned of a game called basketball being played at a gym for men. Senda wanted to adapt the game for women to play, but given the times she was living in, she worried about it possibly making women look “masculine.” Senda created a set of rules to make her version different from men’s basketball. In 1893, she led the first women’s game of basketball. The sport caught on with women, but an official set of rules was preferred, so Senda created an official rule book “Basket Ball for Women” published in 1901. Though many of the rules have changed for modern basketball, during her time, Senda Berenson was a leader in women’s basketball, and her impact on the sport and women’s involvement is still present today. 

 

SERENA WILLIAMS
“SERENA WILLIAMS” by NAPARAZZI is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

4.) Serena Williams (Tennis)

Born Serena Jemeka Williams in 1981, Serena Williams is one of the most prolific and well-known women in tennis, and widely regarded to be one of the best tennis players of all time. At just 3 years of age, her father coached her and her sister, Venus, on how to play the game, practicing two hours daily. In 1991, Serena ranked No. 1 in the 10-and-under division of the junior United States Tennis Association for holding a 46-3 record. At just 14 in 1995, she turned pro and by 1999, she beat her older sister Venus to the punch when she won her first Grand Slam win after capturing the U.S. Open Title. Serena Williams isn’t considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time for nothing. She has won 23 Grand Slam championships during her tennis career, particular due to her aggressive, high-risk playing style that has definitely paid off for her. She even won the Australian Open when she was 8 weeks pregnant with her daughter. Even though she is primarily a baseline player, she is known for her exceptionally strong volleying skills and powerful forehand moves. Despite her prolific career, she hasn’t been exempt from controversies and pushbacks, most notably very racist and misogynistic pushbacks, from the way that she wore her hair during her early years, to racially charged comments being hurled at her during some matches, to an unfair depiction of her in a comic for her behavior during a rough match. Despite all of this, Serena continues to be a very prolific and strong tennis player. 

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

5.) Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Track and field)

Jacqueline “Jackie” Joyner-Kersee was born to teenage parents in 1962. She is known as one of the greatest track and field athletes in history. She excelled in sports all throughout high school, winning the National Junior Pentathlon championship and receiving praise in a variety of sports including basketball, volleyball and especially track. While studying at University of California, she played track and field and women’s basketball. During her junior year, she delayed her participation in college sports – redshirted– to focus her attention on training and competing in the Olympics. In 1984, Jackie competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and ended up winning a silver medal in the heptathlon. A year later, she graduated from UCLA. In the 1980s and 90s, she had a record of making numerous firsts in sports history. In the 1986 Goodwill Games, Jackie became the first woman to score over 7,000 points in a heptathlon event. She became the first woman in sports history to win a gold medal in both the long jump and heptathlon events in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. She made another first when, in 1992, she became the first woman to win consecutive gold medals. She has received numerous honors and awards throughout her career, including two Broderick Awards (now known as the Honda Sports Awards), two Jesse Owens Awards, a James E. Sullivan Award, and she was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 2000. Even after retiring from track and field in the late 1990s, she briefly played in professional basketball for a while. Now fully retired, Jackie is the founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center Foundation, which encourages underprivileged youth to participate in sports. 

 

https://fyeahhistory.com/2018/02/17/the-woman-that-made-the-winter-olympics/

6.) Madge Syers (Figure skating)

Florence Madeline “Madge” Cave Syers was born one of 15 children in 1881 in Kensington, London. She cemented herself in sports history when she became the first woman to compete in figure skating against all-male competition. She was always a skillful and experienced figure skater. Her husband and fellow figure skater, Edgar Syers, whom she married in 1900, had a less rigid style and freer international style of skating, compared to his wife’s more traditional, English style. She adopted his style through his coaching and they went on to compete both in couples and individually. Madge entered herself into the 1902 World Figure Skating Championships, which did not prohibit women from competing. She competed against all men and won the silver medal. Fellow competitor, Ulrich Salchow, was so impressed by her that he offered her his gold medal. However, officials of the championship did not think so, and because of this, ended up banning women from the competition. They argued that women’s long, Edwardian style skirts prevented judges from being able to see their feet, and thus apparently cannot fairly judge them. The ban was eventually lifted a few years later, but nonetheless, Madge Syers made history that was enough to threaten the misogynistic thinking of the male officials. She went on to win the first British singles championship in 1903 and again in 1904, beating out her husband. She competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics which was the first to include figure skating as an event, and was placed first by all the judges individually and came in third with a bronze medal with her husband in the couples’ event.

 

https://www.vice.com/en/article/53xgwz/elizabeth-wilkinson-stokes-championess-of-american-and-of-europe

7.) Elizabeth Wilkinson Stokes (Boxing)

Though boxing has and still is even today considered to be a mainly male and very masculine sport, there were women before the 21st century who participated and even victored in the sport. Elizabeth Wilkinson was one of those women. Born in London, she was a bare-knuckle boxing champion for her time in the 1720s. She is generally regarded as the first female boxer in history, and is also seen as one of the greatest. Not much is known or has been documented about her, except for in newspapers in which she is challenging other women to a boxing match, a common method of fighters at the time. She titled herself as the “European Championess” of boxing (known at the time as pugilism in early 18th century England), a title that was undoubtedly well deserved given her track record throughout her recorded career. In 1722, Elizabeth challenged Hannah Hyfield into what is recorded as the first female prize fight in London. Elizabeth came out a victor after only a spar of 22 minutes. She also went on to fight and beat a woman named Martha Jones. In another fight in 1726, Elizabeth fought against another opponent, Mary Welch. Though women at that time usually fought topless, both of the women came into the venue fully clothed, marking just how serious they were about the sport and as athletes. Elizabeth was known for her trash-talking, a practice that’s very popular among boxers today. Though there might not be much that is know about her, Elizabeth is yet another female athlete who has cemented herself in sport history, dating all the way back to the 18th century. 

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Ayanna Riley

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