Five powerhouse sportswomen you need to know about
BBC Woman’s Hour has revealed its list of 30 phenomenal UK sportswomen – with a Lioness at the top. By Imy Brighty-Potts.
Following a monumental year for women’s football, England and Arsenal footballer Leah Williamson OBE is at the top of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour Power List.
The newly announced list features 30 of the UK’s most outstanding women in sports, spanning everything from cricket and dressage to gymnastics.
Williamson – who was captain of the Lionesses when they won the Euro 2022 final against Germany last summer – said of the news: “It’s lovely – I’m just trying to do my job. My mum will be happy! It’s really nice, I’m slightly taken aback by that but very appreciative.”
She continued: “As women we’ve been living in the shadows, maybe, but we know that we have the ability to step up. If you can’t see it, you can’t be it – which is why when we do recognise women like this, it’s great because those aspiring to be in these positions can believe that there is a place for them in the sporting world.”
The judging panel included former hockey player Sam Quek, celebrated Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, former cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent and former footballer Jessica Creighton.
Williamson, 25, is joined on the list by Baroness Sue Campbell, director of women’s football for The Football Association, and Olympian Alice Dearing, who co-founded the Black Swimming Association.
So, who else features on the list of brilliant women in the sporting world?
1. Lotte Wubben-Moy
Arsenal defender and Lioness Lotte Wubben-Moy champions equal access to football for girls alongside friend and teammate Leah Williamson.
The Lionesses used their victory at Euro 2022 to campaign for better access for sports for girls – and earlier this month, the government promised over £600 million in funding over the next two academic years, as schools were told they must deliver a minimum of two hours of PE each week and give girls equal access to the same sports as boys.
In response to the news, Wubben-Moy penned a moving letter for BBC Sport.
“As of Wednesday’s news from No 10 Downing Street, millions of girls in schools across the nation will now finally have equal access to football at school. They will be able to do what their male classmates have been able to do for years: play football at school,” she wrote.
“Imagine how many future Lionesses you could pick out in every playground across the nation with every school now offering equal access to football. Well, that is now the reality the Lionesses squad of 2022 dreamed of.
“But the victory is so much greater than that because many don’t play football dreaming of a professional career. It is the camaraderie, the adrenaline and the endorphins that I felt as a young girl. It is the teamwork, the social networking and the lifelong friends made on the pitch. It is the beautiful game that I know so well.”
2. Ellie Downie
Earlier this year, 23-year-old gymnast Ellie Downie retired from the sport “to prioritise mental health and happiness”.
She retired as one of Britain’s most decorated gymnasts with 12 senior medals, including Great Britain’s first major all-around gold at the 2017 European Championships.
Downie and her gymnast sister Becky have been praised for going public with allegations of an “environment of fear and mental abuse” at elite levels in their sport, which she said might have led to her omission from subsequent squads.
3. Professor Laura McAllister
Former Wales international footballer Laura McAllister is now a professor at Cardiff University, and is a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.
She’s part of Wales’ Rainbow Wall – a group of LGBTQ+ supporters – and tried to wear a rainbow bucket hat to one of the games at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, but said it was confiscated at the stadium.
“This #WorldCup2022 just gets better but we will continue stand up for our values,” she tweeted at the time.
McAllister is currently standing unopposed to join the UEFA Executive Committee as its designated female member.
4. Ramla Ali
Ramla Ali is a boxer with an undefeated record, and there’s already a documentary in the works about her life.
Born in Somalia, she moved to London in the 1990s with her family as refugees from the civil war. She was the first Somali boxer to compete in the Olympics, and is a strong advocate for getting Muslim women into the sport. She set up a charity called The Sisters Club in 2018, giving women the opportunity to participate in free, weekly boxing classes in a safe environment.
Ali was selected by the Duchess of Sussex to feature on the front cover of British Vogue’s ‘Force For Change’ issue in September 2019, along with other changemakers, and is a UNICEF ambassador.
5. Sophie Christiansen
Sophie Christiansen started horse riding when she was six to help with her cerebral palsy, and has since gone on to win 13 world and Paralympic gold medals.
She’s a huge advocate for disability rights, and has called for more funding into para-dressage. She told Horse & Hound in 2020: “Because of my life balance, I can be a gold-medal winning Paralympian talking about having a normal life as a disabled person. I can talk about how hard it is to get on a train. If I retire, I won’t have that platform. It’s less about me and more about how I can help the wider disabled community.”
Christiansen is also a keen mathematician and a software developer at the investment bank, Goldman Sachs.