Throughout history, sports have been dominated by men- and it would have continued to be the same if not for the exceptional women who broke not only the social barriers but overcame physical challenges. Here are some inspiring stories of some of the female firsts in sports that made history.
Edurne Pasaban- First woman to climb all 14 eight-thousander peaks in the world
Mountaineering is an incredibly challenging sport that claims dozens of lives every year. It requires almost super-human levels of physical endurance and mental strength to succeed. Edurne Pasaban, a gifted mountaineer from Spain, climbed Mont Blanc at 16 and summited Mount Everest at 28. In close to ten years, she climbed all the 14 peaks above 8,000 meters to become the first woman to do so.
Natalia Molchanova – World’s greatest freediver
Freediving is another challenging sport that pushes the body to dangerous levels of extremes that most people cannot tolerate. In the women’s freediving community, one name stands out above all – Natalia Molchanova. After taking 20 years off to be a dedicated mother, Natalia returned to the sport to set world records and break her own in every succeeding attempt. She became the first woman to dive past 100m with constant weight and the first to dive to 127m in one breath through the Blue Hole arch in Egypt. In all, Natalia held 41 world records at the time of her death in 2015.
Nancy Lieberman- First female coach to a men’s pro Basketball team
Being a basketball player, Nancy Lieberman had already had a number of “firsts” under her belt. She played on the U.S. team in the first Basketball tournament in the Olympics and was the first woman to play professional basketball with men. In 2009, Nancy was hired as the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. This not only made her the first female coach for a pro basketball team but also the first female to coach a pro men’s team in any sport.
Ellen MacArthur- Fastest to circumnavigate the globe
Women have sailed around the world before but none as fast as Ellen MacArthur did in 2005. Not only did she circumnavigate the world solo, but she did it in 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds, beating the previous record held by the Frenchman Francis Joyon by 1 day and 8 and half hours. Ellen has a number of other records in sailing as a single-handed woman. After retiring, she started the MacArthur Foundation and dedicated her life to protecting the oceans.
Gertrude Ederle- First to swim the English Channel
The 21-mile stretch of the English Channel has been the place for many firsts throughout history. In 1926 Gertrude Ederle, an American competition swimmer became the first to swim from Cape Griz-Nez to Dover, England, at the age of 19. Her second attempt at the feat was the grueling 14 hours and 31 minutes swim that finally set the record. Ederle Started her attempt at 7:08 A.m. at the French coast and made it to the English side by 9:04 p.m.
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