Athletic Women Blog

Venus and Serena won their semifinal matches today, setting up another all-Williams Wimbledon final this Saturday. Serena had to battle to get past Elena Dementieva. In the next semifinal Venus made short work of Dinara Safina—the top seed, oddly enough—keeping alive her quest for another championship, viz. her third straight and sixth overall.

The essential thing that hasn't changed since last year: the sisters continue to be the dominant athletes on the women's tour.

One doesn't risk much by saying that the Carano-Cyborg fight to be held August 15 is important to the future of women's MMA. But neither is it mere hyperbole to say that this fight matters nearly as much to the future of all women's sport. Already there is plenty of evidence to support such a claim.

Among many firsts in this MMA bout will be women fighting five five-minute rounds (which, of course, the guys have been doing for some time). This has sparked debate, not unpredictably, as seen in an MMAjunkie.com opinion piece and its attendant comments. The issues so contentious there and elsewhere apply to other women's sports, and consequently expose difficulties facing all female athletes.

So we find that many of our hopes for the future of women's sport ride on the shoulders (or rather fists) of two very talented women. A great fight showing an abundance of heart and athleticism will go a long way toward silencing critics. I expect that is what we will see.

(As for who will be the winner? That's tougher to call.)

For 70 years Batman has been the star of Detective Comics. That changed this week. Immeasurably. America's longest running comic book now features a superheroine—one who is gay at that—Batwoman.

Today is the 37th anniversary of Title IX. I considered how best to mark the occasion and decided on something that would palpably show what Title IX helped emancipate: female strength; better still for this purpose, female strength in its most lethal form yet.

If you've seen Gina Carano in action, you undoubtedly have some sense of her otherworldly striking power; even her glancing blows can injure an opponent. Now, thanks to Sport Science, you can supplement your intuition with actual numbers. The finale—a chokehold applied to the show's host—is equally impressive, and rather frightening.

Alison Macleod says something in this interview that I find telling. When asked whether a female racer has an advantage or a disadvantage, Macleod mentions strength first: "Most girls are clearly disadvantaged when it comes to strength. Racing does require a lot of strength and lot of training so we have to work twice as hard as the guys do just to kind of keep that muscle up and everything, so we're at a little bit of a disadvantage."

So again we see how much strength training helps female athletes, even in sports where, at first glance, it wouldn't seem applicable, like auto racing.

I sometimes hear a female athlete say that she has cut back her weight training because it makes her look "too big," "too manly," etc. Moreover, often this is one of our exceptionally talented female athletes.

Strength is important (often decisive) in sport. Thus it is, to my mind, a pity that female athletes feel pressure, still in 2009, to conform to archaic ideals of femininity.

Perceptions are slowly changing, however. Society will grow up, eventually, but until then female athletes must carry on and lead the way.

When I wrote about Vicki Unus, and later Kaatie Akstinat, I was motivated by a profound respect for female aerialists. The female aerialist, at once formidable athlete and sublime artist, reveals an oft-hidden truth when she performs: that beauty and strength are not incompatible. I can offer no better evidence of this than the performance by Eva Garcia seen in the following video:



So good are female aerialists, in fact, that we sometimes forget how dangerous their profession is; courage, another of the many requirements for the job. Sadly, a devastating reminder came August 8, 2003.

If you follow "in the news" (to the left), you have probably already seen this interview with Jenette Goldstein, but some things are better not left to chance. Goldstein's performance, as Private Vasquez, in Aliens not only pioneered the muscular action heroine in film, but remains to this day unsurpassed in the female action genre. She has earned our highest esteem.

Monday afternoon, softball star Danielle Lawrie pitched to members of the Seattle-area media, in an exhibition match of sorts. The media hacks did their best, but their efforts begot little other than embarrassment (theirs) and funny scenes in the following video:

Finally! the fight we've been waiting for. Mark August 15 on your calendar, and make sure you have Showtime by then.

A recent TMZ photo of Elisabeth Shue from the set of Piranha 3-D shows the 45-year-old former gymnast with an impressive set of guns. Shue, who plays Sheriff Julie Forester in the film, looks fit enough to battle prehistoric piranhas with her bare hands; so much the better, I say. Otherwise I wouldn't have much interest in Piranha 3-D, but the chance that Shue will be an impressive action heroine has me thinking that I'll venture out to the theater when it is released.

Shue is obviously in fantastic shape, especially compared to most other 45-year-olds. Nevertheless, here we again see the binary-brained thinking that inevitably turns up whenever a female athlete or celebrity with a muscular physique is in the press. Comments like that make me want to scream at the top of my lungs: "No, knucklehead, this is merely a woman with muscles, a perfectly natural and wonderful thing."

I do so only occasionally.

With a dominating performance that won't soon be forgotten by softball fans, much less the Husky nation, Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie took the Huskies to their first NCAA softball championship yesterday. In the process Lawrie also attested that her selection last week as USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year was indeed judicious.

Lawrie already draws comparisons to baseball legends of yesteryear (even Babe Ruth), her talent, grit, and work ethic all routinely cited. This is well and good, I suppose, but she embodies something more—the ascendant female athlete of the 21st century.

Earlier this year point guard Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir completed her dismantling of Rebecca Lobo's high-school scoring record, which had stood for 18 years. Much attention has understandably been given to the traditional Muslim attire Bilqis competes in—the modest dress required of both female and male adherents, though for some reason scrutiny falls mostly upon women, in athletics as elsewhere. But there is much else remarkable about this young athlete that shouldn't be overlooked; expect to hear more from her as a Memphis Tiger.

I think it is worthwhile to support companies that support female athletes, and endeavor to that end as best I can with this blog. Today's post comes as a result of HP's (wise) decision to partner with Dara Torres, the ageless wonder, for a new campaign. I pass this press release along to you just as it came to me:

HP and Dara Torres Inspire "Moms for Simplicity"
Five-time Olympic swimmer, mom and businesswoman joins moms nationwide to share knowledge, learn tips and plan for summer

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 27, 2009 – With summer around the corner, children will soon be trading homework for fun in the sun, which for today’s moms means a new set of daily activities and often even busier family calendars to juggle.

To honor these multitasking moms, HP and Dara Torres launched "Moms for Simplicity," a website, online essay contest and photo mosaic where moms can inspire and educate each other by sharing stories about how technology simplifies their lives.

"Today’s moms have more demands than ever that fill our lives, and new technologies are helping to simplify our daily routines," said Torres. "Whether I’m paying bills and staying organized, catching up on TV shows and movies while on the road, or creating fun activities with my daughter, HP technology helps make my life easier so I can do the things that matter to me the most."

In mid-June, Torres will choose three contest winners to receive a personalized HP technology makeover, the chance to meet Torres and see her swim in the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and possibly the opportunity to see her compete at the FINA World Championships in Rome.

The contest, which runs through June 16, asks moms to upload a photo to an online photo mosaic and, in 200 words or less, tell HP and Torres how they use technology to simplify their busy lives -- including digital scrapbooking, keeping in touch with friends, running a business from home, or managing a weekly schedule.

Participants will have their photo and story featured on the photo mosaic, and three will win HP products, including the HP Vivienne Tam edition notebook, HP Photosmart All-in-One printer and an HP TouchSmart PC. Additionally, winners will become "amateur mom reporters" at the U.S. Nationals, where they will see Torres compete and report their experiences on the "Moms for Simplicity" website through a series of video diaries.

"People are looking for easy ways to manage their lives while still being able to do it all, and HP is dedicated to helping them achieve this," said Michael Mendenhall, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, HP. "We are excited to partner with Dara, who is an inspiration to so many people and uses technology to maximize every day of her busy schedule."

According to Nielsen NetRatings, there are 32 million women in the United States who have children under 18 and get online (84 percent of moms online), which translates to about 40 percent of all women online in the United States today.(1)

More information on "Moms for Simplicity" and how to participate in the contest is available at www.hp.com/go/hpmomsforsimplicity.

About HP
HP, the world’s largest technology company, provides printing and personal computing products and IT services, software and solutions that simplify the technology experience for consumers and businesses. HP completed its acquisition of EDS on Aug. 26, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

(1) "NetRatings @Plan," Nielsen NetRatings, Winter 2008/2009.

And thank goodness she is, for it would be a shame if Hollywood's most athletic actress ruled out the possibility of playing our most formidable heroine.

Everything about Jessica Biel—her bearing, her physique, her athleticism—exudes superheroine aura. The fit is seamless; to picture her as Wonder Woman requires no effort at all.

I'm looking forward to the long weekend, as most of you undoubtedly are. I'm keeping it simple, too, with just three things planned: reading, relaxing, and watching sports (namely, lacrosse and softball).

Shawn Johnson made the biggest news this week, so it seems fitting to end with her. In this clip, she talks to Jimmy Kimmel about her DWTS win:



Have a great weekend!