I offered directions and encourage you to develop this activity for your audience, your generation (if/as necessary) and a given demographic. Here are the photos and profiles of the talented, competitive, inspiring and beautiful Olympians, professional athletes, champions and sporty spices.
Please note, for many years the sporting careers that women could seek on the professional level were limited to golf and tennis. The US Women's National Soccer team known as the '99ers as well as the creation of the WNBA under former commissioner David Stern shifted that paradigm.
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| Kim Clijsters: Without a doubt, Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters is one of my favorite examples. As mentioned in the NYT article on Serena, Clisters won three Grand Slam titles after the birth of her daughter Jada (pictured above). Her husband Brian, who played basketball at Villanova and professionally in Europe retired from his career to follow his wife on the tour. She retired from the game in 2012 to have another child. Additional Points for: country of origin, information about her husband, Grand Slam titles earned after the birth of her daughter. |
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| Annika Sorenstam is one of the most successful female golfers of all time. With over 90 international tournament victories, she has 72 LPGA titles and won 10 majors. Born in Sweden, she has two children. Additional Points for: country of origin, greatest golf achievement. |
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| Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, is not only a former number one player in the world, she is the only mom to have won a Wimbledon championship in the modern era. She gave birth to her daughter in 1977 and won the title in 1980. I am excited to see if Serena changes this stat. Additional Points for: Goolagong is Australian Aboriginal in her ethnicity |
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| Dara Torres: This twelve-time Olympic medalist competed in different Olympic Games. At 41, Torres earned a spot on the 2008 team making history as not only the oldest swimmer on the team but the only mom in competition. Torres, who is Cuban-American believes that she was a better swimmer after having given birth to her daughter, Tessa Grace. Additional Points for: College (University of Florida) and Best Stroke (Freestyle) |
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| Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings: May-Treanor gave birth to her daughter Malia in June 2014. She decided to retire from Beach Volleyball to focus on motherhood after the 2012 Olympic Games. Her long-time partner, KWJ was in fact 5 weeks pregnant with her third child during the London Olympics. Additional Points for: fun facts about their husbands (Treamor is a catcher in MLB and Jennings was a pro beach VB player), AND for college teams (CSU Long Beach and Stanford, respectively). |
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| Candice Wiggins is a retired professional basketball player (point guard/shooting guard) who in a WNBA champion (2011) and earned one of my favorite awards: Sixth Woman of the Year (2008). People might be familiar with Wiggins for her remarks about the toxic culture in the WNBA, that included bullying for her orientation. Additional Points for: She is the all-time leading scorer for Stanford University. |
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| Paula Radcliffe is arguably the greatest female distance runner of all time. A world champion in the marathon, half marathon and in cross country, what is especially remarkable is that she gave birth to her first child in 2007 and won the New York City marathon in November of that same year. She trained while expecting her second child, a son, born in 2011. |
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| Muffet McGraw is the winningest coach in Notre Dame history. Hired to coach in 1987, she coached the Irish to a national championship in 2001. McGraw has one son, Murphy, who was born 5 years into her career at ND. Additional Points for: her first name is Ann—great name! This fall the she will be decorated with the 2017 Legends of Coaching Award. |
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| Jennie Finch is not just a pretty face (there has been some controversy regarding her popularity. Female athletes are often recognized more for their appearance—beauty, sexuality, etc. than their achievements). Finch, a mom of three, is an NCAA champion, US Olympic Gold and Silver medalist. Additional Points for: college team (University of Arizona) as well as the name of the pro team she pitched for (Chicago Bandits). |
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| Don't forget to post a photo of the honoree of your shower! AND be sure to give additional points for all fun facts |
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| Hopefully not her last Grand Slam title, Australian Open victory, 2017. |
There are many other women: athletes and coaches (Mia Hamm, Pat Summit, Chris Evert to name just a few) that you might feature in this shower game. It might also serve as an activity on women in society. Most important, honor the women who serve as inspirations with their careers, the gift of motherhood and friendship.
Photo Credits
Clijesters
Torres
Beach VB
Wiggins
Finch
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