Women's Sports
Left Behind - A Team’s Struggle Shows Disparity in Girls’ Sports
In the suburbs, girls’ participation in sports is so commonplace that in many communities, the conversation has shifted from concerns over equal access to worries that some girls are playing too much. But the revolution in girls’ sports has largely bypassed the nation’s cities, where public school districts short on money often view sports as a luxury rather than an entitlement.
Title IX Expert Expresses Concern About Possible Reduction in High School Games
Nancy Hogshead-Makar said the Florida High School Athletic Association's proposal to cut 40 percent of junior-varsity games and 20 percent of varsity games -- except for football -- isn't a "gender-neutral decision." The proposed cut in schedules is financially motivated....
Weightlifter of the Year: Madeline Gapko, a Huge Lift
Madeline Gapko, a senior high school weightlifter from Seminole Ridge, lifted nearly 2 1/2 times her body weight at the FHSAA state meet to place eighth overall in the 101-pound division....
Wieber, 13, Vaults to New Heights at Gymnastics' American Cup
Jordyn Wieber has a long road ahead to become an Olympian with the London Games three years away, but she has established herself firmly as the sport's rising star....
Girls Weightlifting Beefs up at Mandarin High School
Laura Koeppel is head coach of the girls weightlifting team and has built a team of 22 lifters, up from eight in its inaugural season last year....
Young Female Powerlifters Prepared for Nationals
Come this Saturday, Nicole Simonis and three Chenango Valley students - senior Shannon Kane, sophomore Ranata DeGennaro and eighth-grader Liza Hillegas - will attempt to pick up more weight than they ever have before. They will compete in the USA Powerlifting Women's National Championships, a competition open to women of all ages, in Miami. ...
US Swimmer Emily Brunemann Tests Positive
American swimmer Emily Brunemann has been slapped with a six-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, the United States Anti-doping Agency announced Wednesday....
Sum of Spruce Creek's Parts Contribute to Weightlifting Dynasty
The Spruce Creek High School Hawks have won all five state titles since the Florida High School Athletic Association started sanctioning the sport in 2004. They will go for No. 6 on Saturday, February 14th in New Port Richey....
Girls Weightlifting Builds Muscle and Confidence
When Florida's high-school athletic association announced that girls weightlifting would hold its first state championship in 2003 -- and became the only state in the country to do so -- many observers wondered how many girls would show up....
Gym Dogs Return To Number One Spot In Poll
On the strength of the nation's best score on Friday against Alabama, the Gym Dogs regained the No. 1 spot in the GymInfo rankings on Monday. The Gym Dogs were ranked No. 1 in the preseason, stood eighth after one meet, and were fourth after the second and third meets....
Fort Mill Lifter Maureen Clary Keeps Raising the Bar
Maureen Clary, 52, can lift in excess of 230 pounds - nearly 100 pounds more than her body weight. She is the top-ranked masters woman champion in the 148-pound division....
Tampa's Lingerie Bowl is Called Off
The highly anticipated intra-state lingerie football league battle between the Tampa Breeze and the Miami Caliente has been called off at the last minute....
Maura Shuttleworth - Don't Bench Me In
Maura Shuttleworth broke the Minnesota state record in her weight class last November when she bench-pressed 180 pounds, and she’s set her sights on the national women’s record of 214 pounds, which she hopes to break within the year....
Candace Parker Is Balancing Career and Family
If the W.N.B.A. is not roundly thrilled with her pregnancy, which became public earlier this month, the Los Angels Sparks' Candice Parker has decided she can live with that....
Girl Power - Teenage Weightlifter Kaysie Junco
Kaysie Junco knows how to pull her own weight, and then some! She is a leader in the only state to sanction female high school weightlifting - so far....
Carolina Girls Take Male Wrestlers to the Mat
When Lauren Clark-Johnson is silently preparing for her opponent, she can blend into a gym full of boys at a high school wrestling meet. Once a match begins, Clark-Johnson, one of the best girl wrestlers in the state, no longer blends in with the boys. She often beats them....
Kayla Palmberg's Outing Lifts Her Hopes
Kayla Palmberg's efforts helped the Boca Raton High School Trojans win the women's weightlifting competition over four other Palm Beach Schools. Florida is becoming a national leader in opportunities for female high school weightlifters....
Georgia's Kupets Named SEC's Athlete Of The Week
Senior Courtney Kupets is a key component of the Georgia Gym Dogs team that is seeking to win their fifth straight national championship, and their first without superstar Katie Heenan....
Alison Streacker Making Mark With Passion for Powerlifting
Since 2005, Streacker has entered about 20 powerlifting competitions. She competes in the 13-15 age group, 165-pound weight class, where she has bench pressed as much as 245 pounds and deadlifted as much as 340 pounds....
Bethani Duncan, Texas Teen, Powerlifts Into Record Books
Coach Mike Denmon, who was a powerlifter at Bridge City in the 1980s, said the girls lifting today are so strong, they could have beaten him back then. He said what has helped Bethani become successful is a gymnastics background....
Gender Benders: Seven Girls on San Benito Wrestling Team
Northern California has become a hotbed for the burgeoning sport of female high school wrestling....
At Play: Triathlete Marti Greer Says Anyone Can Do It
At 50 years old, Marti Greer begins each day with a two-hour workout to keep in shape for about a dozen sprint- and intermediate-level triathlons and one Iron Man triathlon a year. ...
China Fitness - Poles Apart From Their Seedy Image
Beijing female office workers are paying 100 yuan ($13) per hour for a special physical fitness class, pole-dancing....
Marion Jones Not Included on President Bush's Pardon List
Former Olympic sprinter Marion Jones was not included on the President's official pardon list, which was released on Monday....
Bianca Garza Fits Right in on Andrew Hill's Defensive Line
Bianca Garza is a junior at Andrew Hill High School (San Jose, California) who plays on the varsity football team as a defensive lineman. She led the junior varsity team with 10 sacks last season and benches 200 pounds despite weighing just 135 pounds....
Gymnast Shawn Johnson says she's doubtful for 2009 season
"I'll definitely take a little break," she said. "The 2012 Olympics are the huge question. When you've had a passion and had goals and you've realized them, it's hard to make new goals. I'll have to decide whether I want to push for another four years."...
Marion Jones to Oprah: 'I could have won without steroids'
Disgraced track star Marion Jones says she often thinks she would have won gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics even if she hadn't taken performance-enhancing drugs. ...
Fit Samantha Stosur Ready to Slam
A determined, and muscled up, Samantha Stosur has vowed she will not wilt under pressure when the heat intensifies at the Australian Open....
Abby Wambach Goes Full Circle as Women's League Stocks Rosters
Women's Professional Soccer inherits a few players and a couple of teams from the WUSA, which ceased full operations after the 2003 season. Abby Wambach will return to the Washington Freedom while Kristine Lilly will remain with the Boston Breakers....
Girls Show Grit on the Gridiron
A handful of young women are playing competitive tackle football. ...
Playing Point Guard Helped Point Way for Palin
How many zillions of times have we heard our male politicians and corporate leaders talk about how sports shaped their lives? Now, this year, a woman or two can enter that conversation. ...
Brazilian Swimmer Rebeca Gusmao Banned for Life
The International Swimming Federation on Friday banned Brazilian star Rebeca Gusmao for life for failing two drug tests. She underwent a very visible transformation between 2003 and 2007, which can be seen in the attached photos....
Afghan Women's Strength on Display in Gyms
Clad in head scarves, Afghan female weightlifters break into male-dominated muscle sports. Women's bodybuilding is forbidden: "The Afghan woman is strong, we are not showing the body. We are showing the power."...
Training May Curb Some Sports Injuries In Women
Women tend to be "front muscle dominant," utilizing their quads in sports. This means that women's bodies don't fully activate the muscles on the back side, namely the hamstrings and the glutes, and more muscular development in those two areas can help prevent injuries. ...
Early Focus on One Sport Raises Alarms
Accusations that two members of the Chinese women’s gymnastic team were too young to compete have renewed focus on the Olympic rule that bars gymnasts under 16, an age limit that seeks to protect young athletes from health risks like the incessant pounding that can take a toll on a developing body....
Men, Women and Speed. Two Words: Got Testosterone?
Even though some scientists once predicted that women would eventually close the gender gap in elite performances — it was proposed that all they needed was more experience, better training and stronger coaching — that idea is now largely discredited, at least for Olympic events....
Georgia Gymnastics Announces 2009 Schedule
The four-time defending national champion Georgia gymnastics team will face seven teams that competed in the 2008 NCAA Championships, including four at home as its 2009 schedule was announced Friday....
Study - Cheerleading Accounts for Most Sports-Related Injuries
Cheerleading accounted for two-thirds of sports-related deaths or serious injuries to high school girls over the past 25 years, according to a new nationwide study....
Log Roller and Fitness Star Shana Martin Wins World Title
Fitness star, pole vaulter, and physique model Shana Martin of Madison, Wisconsin. won the 2008 World Log Rolling and Boom Running Championship on July 27th in Hayward, Wisconsin....
WNBA May Have a Fighting Chance
Tuesday's brawl might be the best thing that has happened to the WNBA in a while, because it can help us to change the ways we perceive female athletes....
From the Erotic Domain, an Aerobic Trend in China
A nightclub activity mostly considered the domain of strippers in the United States, pole dancing — but with clothes kept on — is nudging its way into the mainstream Chinese exercise market, with increasing numbers of gyms and dance schools offering classes....
Women Surfers Share Sun-protection Secrets
Pro riders Kassia Meador, Katrina Petroni, Alana Blanchard and Sage Erickson give their favorites for keeping hair and skin healthy....
Women Want to Wrestle and Small Colleges Oblige
Women’s wrestling teams are sprouting up at small colleges, because female wrestling is an untapped market of prospective students. The sport has grown in popularity since being added to the 2004 Olympics....
The Uneven Playing Field - Female Athlete Injuries
Title IX, the federal law enacted in 1972 mandating equal opportunity in sports, has helped to shape a couple of generations of girls who believe they are as capable and as tough as any boy....
Katie Heenan Wins Honda Sports Award For Gymnastics
Georgia gymnastics senior Katie Heenan has been named the recipient of the 2008 Honda Sports Awards for gymnastics, the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards sponsored by Honda....
Gym Dogs ‘Back 4 More’ at NCAA Championships
The Georgia Gym Dogs will be the number one seed as Katie Heenan and her teammates gun for their fourth straight NCAA women's gymnastics title this weekend....
Gym Dogs Head to Penn State for NCAA Northeast Regional
The top-ranked Georgia gymnastics team continues its drive for a fourth straight NCAA title Saturday, as the Gym Dogs are set to compete at the Northeast Regional at Penn State's Rec Hall at 6 p.m....
Gymnastics Lands Thousands Of Girls and Boys In Emergency Room
More than 600,000 children participate in school-sponsored and club-level gymnastics competitions annually in the United States. Yet gymnastics continues to be overlooked in terms of potential for injury, while having one of the highest injury rates of all girls' sports....
Georgia Football Players Give Gym Dogs Their Props
The smallest athletes at the University of Georgia are apparently the strongest, after a "Challenge of the Champions" between women's gymnastics and the football team....
