Celebrating Strength and Achievement on International Women’s Day

As a young girl, I wasn’t very sporty or athletic. To be totally honest, I’m still the same now!

I did enjoy watching sports here and there. I remember watching football when important games were on (big Manchester United games, the Euros, and the World Cup games from the quarter finals onwards) I would also, along with most of the world tune into the Olympics.

Apart from a very short-lived aspiration of becoming an Olympic swimmer, I never really wanted to be an athlete it didn’t interest me one bit. Even though I had no interest in being a sportswoman, there were a few incredible sportswomen who I really admired and who inspired me growing up.

My absolute favorite athlete was Jessica Ennis-Hill. I loved her, as a kid whenever I would race my siblings, my sister and I would argue over who got to be her in the race.  She was amazing to watch, especially during London 2012 when she won Olympic gold in the heptathlon. She is the reason I thought Long Jump was one of the best Olympic sports. She was very good at what she did, and I thought she was just so cool. Seeing someone perform like that on the biggest stage was so inspiring.

I also remember loving Gabby Douglas. She made history at the 2012 Olympics as the first African American woman to win the gymnastics all-around gold medal. She was only about 6 and a half years older than me, and she was competing on the international stage. Not just competing, but winning. That, to me was so incredible. I would go on YouTube with my sister and watch her routines quite often. I went back to watch some while writing this and I’m still gob smacked by her talent.

Then there’s Ellie Simmonds and for a long time between the ages of 8 to 11 I would have said she was my favorite swimmer. She won two Paralympic gold medals at just 13 years old at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics. I was slightly too young to remember that, but I do remember watching her win two gold medals in the 2012 London Olympics and being so excited about it. She really helped bring a lot more attention to Paralympic sport in the UK, especially after London 2012, which made those Games even more memorable.

When I was about 11, I watched my first women’s football match Arsenal v Chelsea. There I remember Danielle Carter playing so well. I remember her doing an incredible run, losing her boot and continuing on to nearly score. That match was my first intro into women’s football and while it would be some time until I actually started following women’s football, that match and Daniel Carter influenced the journey. In the summer of 2025, Arsenal Women F.C. won the UEFA Women's Champions League, and seeing the crowds of people out celebrating with them was amazing. Moments like that really show how much the women’s game has grown and how many people are now paying attention. Players like Danielle Carter helped pave the way for the generations of girls who came after them to see football as something they could genuinely pursue, and it’s great to see the game continuing to grow.

More recently after I started watching rugby, I came across Portia Woodman-Wickliffe. I remember watching the Black Ferns v USA match and seeing her score 7 tries, which is something. So incredible, that when I saw there were a few last-minute tickets to New Zealand v South Africa in Exeter a few months later, I booked a ticket for myself. Not being able to find anyone to go with, I travelled to Exeter to watch my first ever solo rugby match.

I'm not sure if I would have gone on my own if not for that fact that I knew this would probably be the only time I'd get to see Portia play international rugby live. Not long before this she became the all-time leading try scorer for New Zealand, being the first player to score 50 Test tries for the Black Ferns. She is also the all-time record holder for tries in the Women’s Rugby World Cup. How can you not be inspired by such a strong and powerful woman!

 Even though I never ended up pursuing sport myself, watching these athletes definitely shaped how I see sport today and how much I enjoy following it.

They may have competed in different sports, countries and moments in time, but they all showed the same thing; that talent, determination and courage. They were brave enough to follow their dreams and overcame all the obstacles that are associated with being women in sport and courage like that always deserves to be celebrated.

So this International Women’s Day, that's exactly what I'm doing.