Female Athletes

When Esther Williams was winning national championships in swimming, female athletes rarely achieved fame, much less fortune. They were few in number and generally marginalized. Still, Esther was a preternaturally talented swimmer and likely would have won a gold medal at the 1940 Olympics to be held in Tokyo, perhaps becoming an exception to the times. World War II intervened, however, and stole that singular opportunity from her.

Nevertheless, she had attracted attention anyway. From her official website:

In 1940 newspaper sports reportage, swimmers were frequently lined up for cheesecake photos, flashing big smiles and lots of leg. With her stunning good looks and tall, well-muscled frame, Esther was a standout! It didn't take long for legendary showman Billy Rose to notice the photogenic champion. Rose needed a female lead to star opposite Olympian and screen star Johnny Weismuller in his San Francisco Aquacade review. He invited Williams up for an audition and, so the story goes, Weismuller himself picked her out of a casting call of 75 hopefuls. Her performing career had begun.

Williams went on to make several movies, and for a time was among MGM's biggest stars. She was most famous, of course, for her scenes in the water. There she did most the work herself, which led to many injuries, even breaking her neck once during filming of a 115 ft dive. (Something to keep in mind when watching scenes from her movies, like the clip below.)

Resilient as ever, Esther recently fought back from a stroke; not only that, she is still swimming, as revealed in a GMA interview from 2007.

Want to know where the sport of synchronized swimming came from? Look no further than Esther Williams:

Perhaps like me you missed this Pepsi commercial on Super Bowl Sunday. To see a female athlete featured in a national ad campaign is rare and great enough, but to see her paired opposite martial arts legend Bruce Lee is sublime beyond anything I have recently experienced.

Watch for Gina Carano at 0:18 in the clip:



Postscript: Expect another post about Gina soon—reportedly, she is close to getting back in the ring.

I'm grateful that an alert reader pointed out this video from Nike's GameChangers campaign. Sometimes the best way to demonstrate the absurdity of a baseless viewpoint is to give it an unfiltered airing, a tactic used here to great advantage, I think:

Few women have done as much as Michiko Nishiwaki to discredit old stereotypes. This is especially true in her home country, Japan; she is Japan's first female powerlifting champion and Japan's first female bodybuilding champion. Skilled martial artist, actress, stuntwoman, fight choreographer—there seems nothing Michiko can't do.

After a long, storied career in Hong Kong action cinema, where she worked alongside greats like Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung, she settled in Hollywood, keeping busy with stunt work. Real busy, in fact. You've no doubt seen her work many times in recent years; e.g., Charlie's Angels as Lucy Liu's stunt double.

An interview from a few years back (broken into three parts) affords a rare glimpse of this amazing woman:

Last night, ABC announced its new cast for the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars, and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson will be among the celebrity dancers. Hence, today's post has a theme: athletes and dance—an opportunity to visit a connection that isn't noted often enough.

Dance requires considerable strength ("core strength" if you like). Ballet, for instance. Though mostly thought of as performers, which they are first, ballerinas are athletes as well. And when, for example, they shift to film and television, where former ballerinas Summer Glau and Jennifer Garner have been so successful, their ballet training favors them in action roles, with a manner that is at once puissant and graceful.

I close with an illustration which is also an entertainment. A wonderful clip produced by the Anaheim Ballet:

That's right, Thank God/Goddess/Goodness (take your pick) It's Friday! I don't know about you, but for me this has been a busy week. And it has been busy in the world of women's sports as well, appropriate for the week in which National Girls and Women in Sports Day landed this year. No break at the end either—two news items in particular must be noted.

To begin with, WNBA icon Lisa Leslie announced Wednesday that this season will be her last: "I love being a wife, I enjoy my husband and our time. I love being a mom. I'm really passionate about raising a child and being there for her. For me, I just see it's really hard to give 100 percent to everything." (Source: The Associated Press.)

Then, last night, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt got her 1,000th career victory. One of her responses to the fuss I find telling: "I think it's more important to focus on the things that will put us in position to win than the number of games we've won." Perhaps this mindset at least partly explains why she is now the only Division I coach—male or female—with 1,000 career wins.

It seems a pity to post on Friday without something fun. This action-comedy short from the Kick Ass Kandy! series should suffice. The heroine is played by Sasha Jackson, a former competitive diver and gymnast who has turned her attention to acting:

Today is the 23rd anniversary of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. A day to celebrate the accomplishments of female athletes and consider the progress yet needed for women to have equal opportunity in athletics. WNBA President Donna Orender recently penned an op-ed piece to mark the occasion. I am happy to share this with you here.

"Why the WNBA Matters"

Tension and passion hung in the air in the final electrifying seconds of Game 2 of the WNBA Western Conference Finals on Sept. 27. In front of a packed home crowd at the AT&T Center, the San Antonio Silver Stars’ Sophia Young hit a 14-foot turnaround jumper at the buzzer to fend off elimination from the Los Angeles Sparks. At this moment, someone leaned over to me and whispered, “You must be so proud of all this.”

It was one of many incredible moments that define our league. At these times, I am grateful for the messages the league delivers to young women that sweat and grit are permissible and to young males that strong and athletic women will populate their future.

The WNBA formed just 12 years ago, and it continues to blaze trails. The markers of success are familiar in the American sports landscape – corporate partnerships, network television broadcasts, the rhythm of a season from training camp to All-Star to playoffs. It’s the trailblazers who are different.

This WNBA is defining what an investment in our female youth can yield. With these role models before them, young women are playing sports in exponentially increasing numbers. The health benefits of this participation have been well documented: the lowering of heart disease and cancers, and the rise in self-esteem and school performance. Far less commonly recited, however, are the enormous social benefits. Sports is a pervasive cultural presence; its language is the language of business and the currency of status, clearly dominating the hallways and corner offices of the global corporate landscape. Up until now, women have been largely sidelined, kept away from the enormous profits and other considerable benefits that being a valued member of this sports society generate. The WBNA says to young women that they can earn a seat at this table by showing them that they’re invited to dinner in the first place.

Our league sits uniquely at the crossroads of Main Street USA, with an atmosphere and accessibility that encourage families to gather for a game that speaks to America’s values and work ethic. In a day and age when community leaders, politicians and parents simply ask for positive role models for their children, we find one right in front of us: the WNBA, a league where teamwork and hard work are prized, and athletes’ raw passion to play and compete are front and center from opening tip to closing buzzer.

After 12 years, the WNBA deserves more credit and more importantly, greater support for its considerable accomplishments. By just existing, it continues to encourage significant numbers of young women to compete, compete in all fields of endeavor.

Our fans have responded to the high level of play by pushing increased attendance, TV ratings, Web traffic and merchandise sales. These women are spreading this work ethic and universal language around the world - note the 41 current-and-former WNBA players on Olympic rosters in Beijing, including the 12 members of Team USA who brought home their fourth consecutive gold medal.

Progress has been made and yet for all of us who are involved with girls and women's sports, the gap is still wide and perceptions still slow to change. In a world that is turning upside down and inside out as we try to buckle our seat belts, my hope is that the shift in the earth's tectonic plates helps us collectively recognize and actively support change.

If you have a daughter, a sister or a niece, then you fully understand the desire for her to have full access to all that is possible for her. Sports is a huge gateway. The WNBA is an iconic brand that is the most visible means of providing very positive imagery and role models who support all of her hopes and dreams and possibilities. Further, it provides major league sports entertainment rooted in value and values. Wow, life’s lessons are on sale, front and center, and at a great price.

The question we have to ask ourselves – are we willing to pay the price to keep the momentum going? As the women’s game continues to explode and play happens both below and above the rim, the drama of winning and losing are decisions that we effect each time we choose to support our young women with our time, attention and financial resources. Please choose wisely. I would tell you that the price for us to not support the WNBA and our young girls’ physical and spiritual development through sports is a very costly one.

The mission for the league is to lead, to inspire and to create change. It's a rallying call every day. For me, it is both a professional and personal calling. It is about making a positive difference, which is everyone’s self-interest. The wonder of sports is that it is a place where passion rules and where fun and games form a solid foundation for winning, winning in the most important game, in the game of life.

Happy National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

Donna Orender, WNBA president

I can safely report that Serena had a productive trip down under.

Three women will do just that, and you, the athletic woman reading this blog, could be one of them. For that to happen, you have to enter the 'Me, Myself' contest hosted by adidas. Go to www.adidas.com/women and share your training struggles and successes. Then, if yours is among the three stories chosen, you will take part in a professional photo shoot with Candace Parker. Your image will then be seen in advertisements online and in adidas stores as part of promotion for the 'Me, Myself' campaign. Good luck!

I close with an observation. It is a promising sign that many companies like adidas are starting to embrace female athletes and the physical culture now flourishing among women. Everywhere today athletic women flex their muscles; women have discovered that they, too, can be strong. Society must adapt to this. Change is afoot.