Women in Sports

ígnes Keleti (1921–2025), oldest living Olympic champion

Ágnes Keleti was a Holocaust survivor and the oldest living Olympic champion, having won five gold medals in gymnastics in the 1950s.

Olga Fikotová (1932–2024), Olympic gold medalist discus thrower

Olga Fikotová was an Olympic gold medal-winning and record-setting discus thrower whose romance with American athlete Hal Connolly made waves in her home country of Czechoslovakia.

Betsy Rawls (1928–2023), LPGA champion

Betsy Rawls was a professional golfer who won the U.S. Women’s Open four times, among dozens of other career wins on the LPGA Tour.

Lisa Lyon (1953–2023), bodybuilder who inspired Marvel’s Elektra

Lisa Lyon was an early pioneer of female bodybuilding and model who inspired Frank Miller’s creation of the assassin Elektra, a sometimes lover, sometimes antagonist of Daredevil in Marvel Comics.

Ashlea Albertson (1998–2023), 24-year-old racing driver

Ashlea Albertson was a talented young car racing driver from Indianapolis sponsored by the Tony Stewart Racing team.

Nikki McCray-Penson (1971–2023), WNBA star and coach 

Nikki McCray-Penson was a star of the WNBA who won Olympic gold on the U.S. women’s basketball team in 1996 and 2000.  

Marlene Hagge-Vossler (1934–2023), last surviving LPGA founder

Marlene Hagge-Vossler was one of the 13 women who co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950, the last of the group to survive.

Tori Bowie (1990–2023), Olympic track & field medalist

Tori Bowie was a track and field star who won three medals in the 2016 Olympics and was a gold medalist in the 2017 World Athletic Championships.

Dot Wilkinson (1921–2023), softball and bowling hall of famer

Dot Wilkinson was a softball legend and bowler who was in the halls of fame for both of her sports.

Pat McCormick (1930–2023), Olympic gold medal-winning diver

Four-time Olympic gold-winning diver Pat McCormick was so dominant, she won two medals in the 1956 games just five months after giving birth to her son, Tim. She was among the most dominant competitors in her field, winning 26 titles in an 11-year span, including two undefeated seasons. When not competing, she pursued adventure where she could, including mountain climbing, traveling the Amazon, and piloting planes.

Jean Faut (1925–2023), AAGPBL pitcher with two perfect games

Jean Faut was a star pitcher with the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).

Greta Andersen (1927–2023), Olympic swimming champion 

Greta Andersen was a Danish professional swimmer. She broke 18 world marathon records and was the largest money winner in women’s professional swimming history.0e280af

Billie Moore (1943–2022), first U.S. Olympic women’s basketball head coach

Billie Moore was a women’s basketball coach who coached the first U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team to a silver medal in 1976.

Tiffany Jackson (1985–2022), WNBA star and coach

Tiffany Jackson was a WNBA star and coach who played for teams including the New York Liberty and Tulsa Shock.

Shirley Spork (1927–2022), LPGA co-founder

Shirley Spork was a golfer and teaching pro who co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950.

Shirley Burkovich (1933–2022), infielder for the Rockford Peaches

Shirley Burkovich was an infielder and outfielder for teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), including the Rockford Peaches.

Joan Joyce (1940–2022), softball legend and LPGA record-holder

Joan Joyce was the longtime head softball coach at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), as well as a record-setting golfer and basketball player.

Janet MacPherson (1937–2022), pioneer of women’s surfing

Janet MacPherson was a pioneer of women’s surfing, who became a legend in the surfing community.

Darlene Hard (1936–2021), 3-time major tennis champion

Darlene Hard was a Hall of Fame tennis player who won 3 major singles championships and 13 major doubles championships.

Joan Ullyot (1940–2021), convinced Olympics to add women’s marathon

Joan Ullyot was a physician and runner whose research and advocacy helped persuade the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to add a women’s marathon to the Summer Olympics.

Angela Bailey (1962–2021), record-holding Olympic sprinter

Angela Bailey was a Canadian sprinter who won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics.

Shirley Fry Irvin (1927–2021), Tennis Hall of Famer

Shirley Fry Irvin was a tennis player who was ranked No. 1 in 1956 and won a career Grand Slam.

Arlene Pieper Stine (1930–2021), first woman to finish a marathon

Arlene Pieper Stine became the first woman to officially finish a sanctioned marathon in 1959, when she ran the Pikes Peak Marathon.

Bibian Mentel (1972–2021), Paralympic snowboarding champion

Bibian Mentel was a snowboarder who won three gold medals at the Paralympic Winter Games after losing part of her leg to cancer.

Sabine Schmitz (1969–2021), racing driver and “Top Gear” star

Sabine Schmitz was a racing driver who was the first and, to date, only woman to win the famed 24 Hours Nürburgring race. She was also a star of TV’s “Top Gear.”

Dianne Durham (1968–2021), first Black national gymnastics champion

Dianne Durham was the first Black gymnast to win a U.S. national championship, in 1983.

Negro League Stars

We take a look back at the stars of the Negro Leagues and their incredible achievements on and off the baseball diamond.

Jeannie Morris (1935–2020), first woman to report live from the Super Bowl

Jeannie Morris was a pioneering sportscaster who became the first woman to report live from a Super Bowl, at 1975’s Super Bowl IX.

Nancy Darsch (1951–2020), one of the original WNBA coaches

Nancy Darsch was a women’s basketball coach who helped take USA Basketball to gold at the 1984 and 1996 Olympics and was one of the original WNBA coaches.

Betty Bushman (1931–2020), pioneering baseball announcer

Betty Bushman became one of the first women to broadcastaMajor League Baseballgamewhen she joined the radio crew for the Kansas City Ae28099sin 1964.

Angela Buxton (1934–2020), tennis champion who fought discrimination

Angela Buxton was a British tennis player who won doubles at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1956 as the doubles partner of (1927–2003).

Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya (2000–2020), Olympic figure skater

Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya was a figure skater who left her native Russia to compete for Australia in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Angela Madsen (1960–2020), inspirational Paralympic rower

Angela Madsen was the firstwomanwith a disability to rowsolo acrossthe Atlantic Ocean.

Vicki Wood (1919–2020), record-setting woman NASCAR driver

Vicki Wood was a NASCAR driver who broke gender barriers in the sport during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 she set a speed record of 150.375 mph on a one-way drive down the sand at Daytona Beach. She also set speed records for women at the Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta International Speedway. During her career she claimed to have collected 48 racing trophies. She competed with male drivers until 1963 when some men made it clear they would rather strike than face teasing when they lost to a woman. She retired rather than return to racing exclusively against other women drivers.

Margaret Maughan (1928–2020), one of the first Paralympic gold medalists

Margaret Maughan was Britain's first Paralympic gold medal winner. She won gold in archery and swimming at the 1960 games in Rome.  

Phyllis George (1949–2020), groundbreaking sportscaster, Miss America, first lady of Kentucky

Phyllis George, who during her remarkable career was one of the first female sportscasters in American television as well as Miss America and the first lady of Kentucky, died Thursday at the age of 70.

Women's History Month: Legacies & Life Stories

Women accomplish amazing things every day, and that’s always worth celebrating. But in March, we take special notice of women’s achievements as we observe Women’s History Month.

Mickey Wright (1935–2020), LPGA legend who won 13 majors

Mickey Wright was a professional golfer who is widely considered one of the best in LPGA history. Playing professionally from 1955 until her 1969 retirement, Wright won 13 major championships and 82 LPGA Tour events, including winning four consecutive majors in 1961 and 1962. She was known for her fluid and powerful swing, which some called the best they’d ever seen from any golfer, male or female.

Enriqueta Basilio (1948–2019), first woman to light the Olympic flame

Mexican sprinter lit the flame to open the 1968 games in Mexico City.

Katy Collins (2019), MMA fighter

Known as “Red Dragon,” she fought for Bellator and RFA.

Gerry Murray (1920–2019), roller derby star

Gerry Murray was a roller derby starin the sports early days who returned as a grandmother in her 50s.

Dale Greig (1937–2019), pioneer of women's running

Dale Greig was a Scottish pioneer of women's running who became one of the first women to run a marathon.

Gabriele Grunewald (1986–2019), elite runner inspired as she battled cancer

Gabriele Grunewald, an elite runner who became well-known for documenting her cancer journey on social media, died Wednesday, June 11, 2019 in Minneapolis of complications of cancer, according to multiple news sources. She was 32.

Ashley Massaro (1979–2019), WWE superstar

The wrestler also appeared on “Survivor: China.”

Marilynn Smith (1929–2019), LPGA founder

The pro golfer was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Birch Bayh (1928–2019), “the father of Title IX”

Former Indiana senator was the author of the equal rights amendment.

Kelly Catlin (1995–2019), U.S. Olympic cyclist

Kelly Catlin was a world class cyclist who won a silver medal in the women’s team pursuit at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. She won gold medals at the track cycling world championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Catlin was in graduate school at Stanford for computational mathematics.

Bernice Sandler (1928–2019), “Godmother of Title IX”

Bernice Sandler (1928–2019) played an integral part in the creation of the landmark Title IX law that prohibits sex discrimination by educational institutions that receive federal funding. The federal civil rights law was passed in 1972 and assures women have equal access to financial assistance, admissions, and other benefits. The law has had a major impact on equality in sports at high schools and colleges.

Anne Donovan (1961 – 2018), Hall of Fame basketball player and coach

Anne Donovan, the Basketball Hall of Famer who won a national championship at Old Dominion, two Olympic gold medals as a player and another as a coach, died Wednesday of heart failure, according to the Associated Press. She was 56.