ACTIVISM

October 31, 2024

World Athletics releases alarming findings on online abuse of athletes

As World Mental Health Month wraps up, World Athletics is highlighting a distressing trend revealed during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: a surge of online abuse directed at athletes. A newly published study, conducted in collaboration with the AI-driven Threat Matrix by Signify Group, analyzed 355,873 posts and comments in 36 languages,...

October 23, 2024

The Alchemists

They led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan where women were forbidden to ride. When the Taliban returned to power, their only hope was a harrowing escape to an uncertain future. Bicycling

September 26, 2024

Join Women-Led Wednesday Initiative to Drive Change and Uplift Women In Business

Sun Valley, ID (Sep 26, 2024) /SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ - Women-Led Wednesday, the annual purpose-driven holiday that urges the public to shop women-led businesses, returns for the seventh year, calling on consumers to be mindful of their purchasing power leading up to popular eCommerce holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday....

September 11, 2024

Analysis: The Murder of Olympic Marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei is an Alarming Call for Action

Rebecca Cheptegei had just returned from church with her two daughters, ages 9 and 11, on a Sunday afternoon. She couldn’t have known that later that day, September 1, she would struggle to breathe and fight for her life as she lay in the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching...

September 6, 2024

RBC GranFondo Whistler Champions Gender Equality in Cycling

Vancouver/Whistler [Sept 6, 2024]/SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ – The RBC GranFondo Whistler is on a mission to champion gender equality and elevate female participation in cycling. Recognizing the underrepresentation of women in the sport, the organization is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for female cyclists. Their goal is to...

August 12, 2024

Life Will Never Be The Same For These Female Olympians. And That’s A Good Thing.

Winning an Olympic medal is most athletes’ ultimate dream. It marks the culmination of a lifetime of hard work, sacrifice, and determination. That Olympic glory creates overnight celebrities, turns casual fans into diehards, and these days, sparks plenty of viral memes. It also makes athletes very, very, tired. Just ask...

July 29, 2024

Commentator fired over ‘sexist’ remarks on Australian women’s swimming team during Paris Olympics

A controversy erupted at the Paris Olympics 2024 after veteran commentator Bob Ballard made ‘sexist’ remarks about the Australian women’s swimming team. The incident happened after the Australian women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team won a gold medal at the Games on Sunday, July 29. It was a moment to savour...

July 28, 2024

Olympic camera operators urged to avoid ‘sexist’ filming of women athletes

Women participating in the Paris Games are “elite athletes” whom camera operators should be framing in the same way as men, Olympics broadcasting chief Yiannis Exarchos said on Sunday. Exarchos cited “unconscious bias” leading to more close-up shots of women Olympians at the Games. The official Olympics broadcaster has urged...

July 22, 2024

Rise of women’s sports brings greater emphasis on maternity and parental needs

The support being provided at the Paris Olympics for athletes who are also parents is just part of a larger trend as the rise of women’s sports puts greater emphasis on maternity and parental needs. In France, a nursery is available for athletes’ children in the Olympic village for the first time...

July 14, 2024

Harrison Butker on Serena Williams’ ESPYs Diss: ‘Sports Are Supposed to Be the Great Unifier’

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has responded to comments Serena Williams made about him at the 2024 ESPY Awards. During Thursday night's show, Serena took a shot at Butker while onstage with sister Venus Williams and Abbot Elementary creator Quinta Brunson. The news arrives two months after Butker faced backlash for his controversial commencement speech at Benedictine...

June 22, 2024

How women runners debunked myths about the sport and made running their own

Myths about women in sport date back at least to the dawn of the Olympics 2,800 years ago, when women weren’t allowed to compete. These myths “remain hard to shake,” according to sports journalist Maggie Mertens. For instance, it wasn't until 1972 that women were allowed to run in the Boston...

June 15, 2024

How ‘Strava stalkers’ forced fitness apps to protect female joggers

According to data from This Girl Can’s Sport England campaign, six out of 10 women are anxious about the heightened risk of harassment when going out for a jog in the evening. Even worse, stalkers will follow fitness apps to track victims. Recently, fitness app Strava has taken steps to...

June 14, 2024

Dovetail Workwear and Lisa Congdon Spread Radical Love with New Limited Edition Pride Collection

PORTLAND, OREGON (June 14, 2024) /SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ - Dovetail Workwear, makers of durable and stylish apparel for women, announces a limited edition Pride Collection created in partnership with internationally renowned artist and activist, Lisa Congdon. The vibrant capsule collection celebrates the spirit of radical inclusion in honor & support of...

May 31, 2024

New York Times Article Alleges Nims Purja Sexually Assaulted Fellow Climbers; Purja Responds

Two women have gone on the record to accuse mountaineer Nirmal Purja of serious sexual misbehavior, according to reporting by The New York Times. The story mentions several cases of women who have suffered from sexual abuse in outdoor sports. But at the core of the article, it presents the allegations...

May 31, 2024

Nike Basketball Ignores WNBA in Since-Deleted ‘Week Without Hoops’ Post

After the Mavericks beat the Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Thursday night, the X account for Nike’s basketball division posted: “And that’s that… a week without hoops smh,” accompanied by the exasperated upside-down smiley face emoji. The post was quickly deleted, but not before it caught...

May 9, 2024

How Women’s Sports Can Sustain The ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’

On the heels of unprecedented viewership of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament driven by Caitlin Clark fandom, the ESPNW Summit, Thursday, discussed ways to sustain the growing interest in women's sports. Sarah Spain kicked off the summit by presenting key figures on viewership and attendance, showcasing the significant momentum and growth experienced by...

May 7, 2024

Gregg Doyel suspended, banned from Fever games for awkward Caitlin Clark exchange

The Indianapolis Star has suspended sports columnist Gregg Doyel after he went viral for an embarrassing interaction with Caitlin Clark at a press conference. Doyel is suspended for two weeks. As additional punishment, Doyel will not go to Clark’s rookie games this season but will instead cover them for opinion stories by...

April 27, 2024

One less hurdle for women in track: USATF expands maternity benefits for athletes

USA Track & Field (USATF) announced in a press release Thursday that it has expanded maternity support for its athletes, building on the coverage currently offered by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The expanded policy will provide athletes with more time to recover and requalify for Tier...

April 10, 2024

WNBA Has New Commercial Partner: Over-the-Counter Birth Control

The WNBA, which has long positioned itself as an advocate on social justice issues, announced a partnership with the first FDA-approved over-the-counter daily birth control pill. The drug, Opill, fits with the league’s stated focus on reproductive health-care advocacy during the 2024 season. The WNBA and the company are making...

March 19, 2024

Women in Trail Running and Ultrarunning: Perspectives on the Challenges and Progression Toward Equity

According to the running publication Run Repeat, as of 2022, women’s participation in trail races has reached 46%, whereas in 1997 only 13% of trail race participants were women. And if we look at Run Repeat’s 2020 study of ultrarunning, we learn that while women’s participation is much lower overall, at 23%,...

March 14, 2024

Patrick Lefevere sanctioned by UCI for “disparaging” comments “towards women”

Lefevere, who is never far from the headlines and has made numerous much-criticised comments over the years, will now have to make a public statement "recognising the inappropriateness of his statements and apologising therefore" or he faces a fine of 20,000 Swiss francs. The fine has been suspended for three years, on...

March 7, 2024

13 Women Who Changed Running History

Running history is woven in a colorful tapestry of achievements conquered by both men and women, but considering women were only allowed to register for marathons as recently as 1972, female history holds barrier-breaking triumphs and moments of gender-gap-busting bravery. In 1873, Harvard Medical School professor Edward Clarke published Sex...

February 26, 2024

Oboz Footwear and the 52 Hike Challenge launch Over 50 Outside into Year 3

Bozeman, Mont. (February 26, 2024) /OUTDOOR SPORTSWIRE/ – Over 50 Outside, a program created in 2021 to inspire women over the age of 50 to take to the trails and build upon their health, fitness, confidence, and well-being, has opened registration for the 2024 season. The 2024 program, which runs from...

February 26, 2024

Demystifying Women’s Barriers to the Outdoors: Where We Stand, How We Can Do Better

In a report on global trends for athletes in 2023, Strava found that globally, women “were 9% more likely than men to cite a lack of safe places to exercise.” But in the U.S.? That statistic jumps up to 70% — 70% of women surveyed in the report don’t feel like they have a...

February 14, 2024

Levelle Nutrition Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Revolutionize Women’s Sports Nutrition

ITHACA, NY - February 14, 2024 /SPORTSWIRE WOMEN/ – As women continue to redefine their roles in sports and fitness, Levelle Nutrition is embarking on a groundbreaking crowdfunding campaign to address the critical gender gap in sports nutrition. With a mission to energize active women and provide them with sports nutrition...