Trailblazers

Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.

True to my running name, what first came to mind are the women runners. The first official and unofficial runners. Katherine Switzer, Bobbi Gibb, Nina Kuscsik, Joan Benoit Samuelson. They forced their way into the Boston Marathon and other marathons. They proved that a woman can run long distances without her uterus falling out. I can’t imagine the guts it took to train, without today’s sports bras and gear, for and attempt to sneak into a race. Since I have been alive women have been able to run the marathon, Title IX has been around to give equal opportunity to girls. Thanks to the ladies who fought, sat and kept running I can sign up for any race. I don’t take that for granted.

Along the same lines there is Billie Jean King, Wilma Rudolph, Venus and Serena Williams, Danica Patrick, Simone Biles, Caitlin Clark. The gymnasts who testified against the abuse they endured. Allyson Felix and others pushing for maternity leave and child care.

This is just an example, so many more I can list. I may not respect and support everything they do but I am in awe of their talent and courage to break the glass ceiling. This doesn’t take away from male athletes, there is room on the track, court, arena for all.