This month is Women’s History Month and today is International Women’s Day and here at Get More Sports we are honoring the women who have made great strides and even changed the landscape of their sport. Today I thought I would do something different and just list all of the great women in sports. Take a look at this amazing list of women and their accomplishments both as athletes and in roles behind the scenes and the cameras, in what is traditionally a man’s world . I’m also sure that I’ve missed many who have paved the way for others — so feel free to add who your favorite woman sports trailblazer is to this list. And Happy Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day!
Babe Didrikson: was an athlete who achieved a great deal of success in golf, basketball and track and field.
Dot Richardson: Dorothy “Dot” Richardson is a physician and former international softball player, and the head softball coach of the Liberty University softball team.
Toni Stone: was the first of three women to play Negro league baseball.
Mamie Johnson: was one of three women, and the first female pitcher, to play in the Negro Leagues.
Lisa Leslie: a former professional basketball player who played in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Sheryl Swoops: is a retired professional basketball player.
Rebecca Lobo: is a television basketball analyst and former women’s basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association from 1997 to 2003
Nancy Lieberman: nicknamed “Lady Magic”, is a former professional basketball player who played and coached in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and currently works as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association
Nancy Lopez: a professional golfer who became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championship
Mo’Ne Davis: She was one of two girls who played in the 2014 Little League World Series and was the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history. She was the 18th girl overall to play, the sixth to get a hit, and the first African-American girl to play in the Little League World Series. She was also the first Little League baseball player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little League player.
Serena Williams: professional tennis player. The Women’s Tennis Association has ranked her world No. 1 in singles on seven occasions.
Venus Williams: one of the all-time greats of women’s
Billy Jean King: legendary tennis player who won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 12 singles, 16 women’s doubles, and 11 mixed doubles titles.
Maria Sharapova: Russian professional tennis player
Danica Patrick: Professional stock car racer
Dawn Staley: basketball hall of fame player and coach. Staley is a three-time Olympian.
Erin Andrews: Sportscaster and sideline reporter
Lisa Borders: president of the WNBA
Shannon Miller: the 1993 and 1994 World All-Around Champion, the 1996 Olympics balance beam gold medalist, the 1995 Pan Am Games all-around champion, and a member of the gold medal-winning Magnificent Seven team at the Atlanta Olympics
Simone Biles: Biles is the 2016 Olympic individual all-around, vault and floor gold medalist. She was part of the gold medal-winning team dubbed the “Final Five” at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
Gabby Douglas: She was a member of the United States women’s national gymnastics team, dubbed the Fierce Five by the media, at the 2012 Summer Olympics,
Diana Nyad: long distance swimmer who, in 1975, swam around Manhattan and, in 1979, swam from North Bimini, The Bahamas, to Juno Beach, Florida
Abby Wambach: retired soccer player, coach, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion.
Michelle Akers: former soccer player, who starred in the historic 1991 and 1999 Women’s World Cup victories by the United States
Pat Summit: women’s college basketball head coach who, over the course of her career, accrued 1,098 career wins, the most in NCAA basketball history
Dorothy “Dottie” Kamenshek: all-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
Jackie Joyner-Kersee: retired track and field athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon as well as long jump
Mia Hamm: retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup winner
Lindsey Vonn: World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She has won four World Cup overall championships—one of only two female skiers to do so,
Bonnie Blair: retired speedskater. She is one of the top skaters of her era, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history
Dorothy Hamill: retired figure skater. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies’ singles
Peggy Fleming: former figure skater. She is the 1968 Olympic Champion in Ladies’ singles and a three-time World Champion
Wilma Rudolph: Rudolph was acclaimed the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games
Sonja Henie: Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies’ Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion
Kelli Masters: NFL Player Sports Agent
Stephanie McMahon: WWE businesswoman, and Chief Brand Officer of WWE
Tracy Caulkins: former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time world champion, and former world record-holder in three events.
Nadia Comaneci: former gymnast who, at the age of 14, became the first gymnast in Olympic history to be awarded the perfect score of 10.0 at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Misty May: retired professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist
Kerri Walsh: professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist.
This is just a few. On International Women’s Day, let’s not forget to honor so many others who have made an impact, including:
Steffi Graf
Mary Lou Retton
Martina Navratilova
Dana Torres
Ronda Rousey
Jennifer Capriati
Evonne Goolagong
Monica Seles
Maria Sharapova
Monica Seles
Caroline Wozniacki
Jennie Finch
Michelle Kwan
Shawn Johnson
The Fabulous Moolah
Lita
Beth Phoenix
Sasha Banks
Celebrate women in sports! Happy International Women’s Day!
Will Another Athlete Win Dancing with the Stars? Check out the article here.
