Women Sport Memoir

Broken: Tales of a Titanium Cowgirl shares the journey of Michelle Scully’s calamitous riding accident and devastating injury. It also provides a panorama of her path of deep personal discovery as she unexpectedly finds herself in a joyful journey of recovery. Love of horses commingles with a personal quest to improve her horsemanship to spur on her healing.

When Betty Robinson assumed the starting position at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, she was participating in what was only her fourth-ever organized track meet. She crossed the finish line as a gold medalist and the fastest woman in the world. This improbable athletic phenom was an ordinary high school student, discovered running for a train in rural Illinois mere months before her Olympic debut. Amsterdam made her a star.

For swimming champion Nancy Stearns Bercaw, the pool was a natural habitat. But on land, she could never shake the feeling of being a fish out of water. Starting at age two, Nancy devoted her life to swimming, even qualifying for the 1988 Olympic Trials in the fifty-meter freestyle event. But nearly two decades later, when she hung up her cap and goggles, she was confronted with a different kind of challenge: learning who she was out of the lanes.

Voices From the Hills is a history of female participation in mountain running, a development that was fiercely resisted in its early years. Steve Chilton has researched his subject deeply, interviewing many female athletes whom he rightly describes as pioneers. Thanks to them, female participation has become accepted and followed avidly in all its aspects including the long distance, high ascent runs over ranges such as the Mamores and recognized challenges such as the Bob Graham Round.

At 54, Lisa Stewart set out to regain the fearless girl she once had been, riding her horse, Chief, 500 miles home. Hot, homeless, and horseback, she snapped back into every original cell. On an extraordinary homegoing from Kansas City to Bates and Vernon Counties in Missouri, Lisa exhausted herself, faced her past, trusted strangers, and stayed in the middle of her frightened horse to document modern rural America, the people, animals, and land.

Making My Pitch tells the story of Ila Jane Borders, who, despite formidable obstacles, became a Little League prodigy, MVP of her otherwise all-male middle school and high school teams, the first woman awarded a baseball scholarship, and the first to pitch and win a complete men’s collegiate game.

Wave Woman is the untold story of an adventurer whose zest for life and learning kept her alive for 98 years. Betty Pembroke Heldreich Winstedt was the granddaughter of Mormon pioneers who, after spending an active and athletic childhood in Salt Lake City, moved to Santa Monica with her family and enrolled at USC to study dental hygiene. Betty went on to elope with a man she hardly knew, and to have two daughters.

In the 80s and 90s, surf culture was toxic, especially towards women. But Pauline Menczer - a dirt-poor, chronically ill, freckle-faced teen from Bondi - defied insults and intimidation to ride the waves. The reason: she simply loved to surf. But when Pauline's determination propelled her onto the pro circuit, her battle for acceptance and equality didn't end there. The endemic sexism of the industry meant prize money for women was a pittance, while sponsors ignored her because she was a lesbian and didn't have the beach babe look.

At a time when heroes are too rare, C. Vivian Stringer sets a shining example. She has time and again shown character, fortitude, and heart, both on and off the hardwood, and in the face of unbearable loss. In Standing Tall, she shares her remarkable life story, inspiring us to find this fortitude within ourselves.

Telling the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team's story in expert prose, Pride of a Nation is a lavish tribute to one of the most beloved teams in sports, revisiting their historic four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, as well as unforgettable players across the generations, such as Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Briana Scurry, Hope Solo, Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Mallory Pugh, and more.

The US Women’s National Soccer Team has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, set record TV ratings, drawn massive crowds, earned huge revenues for FIFA and US Soccer, and helped to redefine the place of women in sports. But despite their dominance, and their rosters of superstar players, they’ve endured striking inequality: low pay, poor playing conditions, and limited opportunities to play in professional leagues.

The inspirational story of the female motorsport pioneer who broke through the gender barrier to compete in and win some of the most iconic rallies in the world. Rosemary Smith is recognised internationally for her outstanding achievements in the world of motorsport. A female pioneer in a notoriously male-dominated sport, she drove in the Monte Carlo rally eight times, winning the Coupe des Dames on numerous occasions as well as competing in most other iconic rallies all over the world.

Sabrina Verjee is an ultrarunning phenomenon. In June 2021, on her fourth attempt, she became the first person to climb the Lake District’s 214 Wainwright hills in under six days, running 325 miles with a colossal 36,000 meters of ascent. Where There’s a Hill tells the story of an outsider who was never picked for a school sports team yet went on to become an accomplished modern pentathlete and adventure racer. After switching her focus to ultrarunning in her 30s, Sabrina moved to the Lake District, where she could hone her mountain-running skills on the local fells.

Are sports good for kids? Does participation in athletics improve a persons life? Yes, says Betsy Mitchell 2x Olympian, 7x NCAA champion, and collegiate athletic director. But according to Mitchell, amateur sports are only beneficial when the focus remains on acquiring skills, developing sportsmanship, and having fun. In this inspirational memoir, Betsy writes a love letter to amateur athletes, revealing how the joy and challenges of sports shaped her life and sharing twelve pivotal lessons she learned along the way.

Stephanie White, from Charlotte NC, made up her mind to tackle the three individual 200-mile distance races known as the Triple Crown of 200’s. This includes the Bigfoot 205 mile race, Tahoe 200 mile race, and the Moab 240 mile race. While trying to figure out how to train for these races, she decided to do a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail and learned so much about herself and life, in general, along the way.

In the late '80s, our Rachel was having a boss time as a podium dancer at the Pleasuredrome, Birkenhead. Fast forward several years, and she's married, with the kids she's always dreamed of, but the body she's always dreaded. To make things worse, her husband, Trevor, begins to show his true controlling colours and Rachel blames herself, spiralling into depression. Until she discovers running.

Blueprint is a candid account of the extraordinary life and athletic journey of one of America's greatest athletes and a champion in every way - the remarkable two-time Olympian Katie Hoff.

Named one of Time Magazine International's 30 most important people of 2005, Maud Fontenoy presents us with a terrific, entertaining adventure story on the high seas as she challenges the Pacific Ocean - a feat no woman before her ever accomplished. Already the first woman to row alone across the North Atlantic, Maud raised the bar to defy the elements, the daunting solitude, and the circling sharks of the South Pacific on her second solo voyage.

El pugilato precisa de algo más que un buen uppercut, necesita algo que brille. Un nombre sugerente, por ejemplo. Por su cabeza rapada algunos la llaman Black Kojac, pero como no tiene padrinos, Marian no va a aceptar que nadie elija su nombre. Tampoco quiere, como hicieron otras antes y también después que ella, un mote que se refiera a su padre. No quiere ser sobre el ring La hija del Minero, ni La hija del Predicador. Ella anhela un bautizo de hombre: Harry Greb "Molino de Viento Humano", Gene "Perro Rabioso" Hatcher, Jack Dempsey "El Matón de Manassa".

Siden hun var en lille pige, har Caroline drømt om de store sejre på tennisbanen - og om at blive den bedste tennisspiller i verden. "Nummer 1" er historien om at nå sine drømme og kæmpe hårdt for det. Vi hører om Caroline Wozniackis liv, fra hun startede med at se på, mens hendes bror Patrick spillede tennis, til hun i 2018 vandt Australian Open og sin første Grand Slam. Du kommer med ind bag kulissen i professionel tennis og møder Wozniacki til de store turneringer, og når hun holder fri.