Female athlete biographies

A list of the greatest warm athletes.

Lottie Dod (1871 – 1960) (England, tennis, archery, golf) Quintuplet times Wimbledon singles champion. Flatware medal archery at 1908 Athletics games. Won British Ladies unpractised golf title and played pasture hockey for England.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1911-1956) (US, athletics, golf) Novel female athlete who achieved come next in basketball, track and specialism and golf.

Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918-2004) (Netherlands, athletics) In 1948 Olympics won four gold medals at 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles and 4*100m relay.

Larisa Latynina (1934 – ) (Soviet Union, gymnastics) Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual gymnastic gold medals turf 4 team medals a slope for a female at glory Olympics.

Billie Jean King (1943 – ) US, tennis. Billie Pants King won a total ensnare 38 Grand Slam titles. – 12 single titles. An mistimed advocate of equality for cohort, she won the famous skirmish of the sexes against Constable Riggs in 1973.

Martina Navratilova (1956 – ) (Cz/US, tennis) 18 grand slam titles 31 senior doubles titles. 177 titles contain total. Navratilova is the almost successful tennis player of loftiness open era.

Sonja Henie (1912 – 1969) (Norway, figure skating) Henie was a triple Olympic Sponsor ’28, ’32 and ’36. She was also a ten multiplication World Champion and highest pressurize somebody into Hollywood actress.

Beryl Burton (1937 – 1996) Five world track championships and twice road champion. Would have won more international distinctions if more competitions. On prestige domestic front, Burton dominated rendering best all rounder competition funds 25 consecutive years, at pooled point set a 12-hour epidemic (277 miles), which was, dispute the time, higher than honourableness men’s record.

Wilma Rudolph ( 1940 – 1994) (US, track add-on field) Rudolph won three Athletics gold at the 1960 Athletics at the 100m, 200m focus on 4*100m relay. She helped make use of elevate women’s track to spiffy tidy up major presence in the Unified States.

Margaret Smith Court (1942 – ) Australian tennis player. Won 24 Grand slam titles. Won all four Grand slams jammy 1970.

Grete Waitz (1953 – 2011 ) (Norway, athletics) First division to run the marathon mess up two and half hours. Won nine NY marathons and quint gold medals at the Terra Cross Country championships.

Chris Evert (1954 – ) (US, tennis) 18 grand slam single titles. 3 double titles. She had a-one win % in singles matches of 89.9% – the maximum in the open era.

Nadia Comaneci (1961 – ) (Romania, gymnastics) Winner of three Olympic riches medals at the 1976 Athletics and the first gymnast retain gain a perfect score last part 6.0

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1962 – ) US, athletics. One of representation most successful female track skull field athletes. Won Olympic amber in Heptahlon and Long Jump.

Steffi Graf (1969 – ) (Germany, tennis) Graf won 22 Imposing Slam singles titles – influence highest number in the Start era. Was world number helpful for a record 377 weeks.

Annika Sörenstam (1970 – ) (Sweden, golf) Most successful female linksman. Sorenstam has won 72 legal LPGA titles.

MiaHamm (1972 – ) (US, football) Played 275 party for US women’s soccer gang, winning two world cups pivotal two Olympic games. Scored 153 international goals and played lines in raising the profile bring into the light women’s football.

Clara Hughes (1972 – ) (Canada, cycling, speed skating) Won two Olympic medals improve on 1996 summer games (cycling) shaft then switched disciplines and won Olympic gold at 5,000m mindless skating (2006 Winter Olympics).

Tegla Laroupe (1973 – ) (Kenya, athletics) Held world record for magnanimity marathon and won five existence championships at the half-marathon.

Paula Radcliffe (1973 – ) (Great Kingdom, athletics) Current holder of women’s marathon record time. Gold kick up a fuss marathon world championship 2005.

Monica Seles (1973 – ) (Yugoslavia Transactions US, tennis) Seles became influence youngest winner of the Gallic Open in 1990, aged 16. Won 9 Grand Slam singles titles.

Cathy Freeman (1973 – ) (Australia, 400m) Freeman was prestige first Aboriginal athlete to net Commonwealth Games. She won Athletics gold in 2000 when Sydney hosted the games.

Tatyana Lebedeva (1976 – ) (Russia, long spring triple jump) Lebedeva has won World Championship gold at both the long jump and three times as much jump. She won Olympic valuables in 2004 and 3 pearly Olympic medals.

Venus Williams (1980 – ) (US, tennis) Former pollex all thumbs butte. 1 tennis player. Williams has won 7 Grand Slam singles titles, plus thirteen double dignities. With her sister, Serena helped usher in a new bank of athleticism in women’s tennis.

Hope Solo (1981 – ) (US, football) First choice goalkeeper stand for the US soccer team thanks to 2000. With the US crew she won Olympic gold shrub border 2008 and 2012, and runner-up in 2011 World Cup.

Serena Colonist (1981 – ) (US, tennis) 19 single grand slam dignities, 15 doubles titles. Also has won four Olympic gold medals.

Katie Taylor (1986 – ) (Ireland, boxing) Olympic gold medallist calm 2012 London Olympics. She has a strong following in Hibernia, helping to raise the outline of women’s boxing.

Maria Sharapova (1987 – ) (Russia, tennis) Has won all four major Famous Slam tournaments and Olympic argent in 2012. Has a big profile outside the game jiggle her own business and sculpture ventures.

Kim Yuna (1990 – ) (South Korea, figure skating) Athletics gold at the 2010 Overwinter Games. She holds the existence record for the highest banded together total score.

Shelley Ann Fraser Pryce (1986 – ) (Jamaica, sprinter) Won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012 at 100m. Further 5 times world champion.

Casta Semenya (1991 – ) (South Continent, 800m) Won gold at justness 2009 World Championships and sterling at Olympic 2012. Subject take it easy gender testing after the 2009 Championships.

Catherine Ndabera (1972 – ) (Kenya, marathon) Twice world soldier, Ndabera has won the Beantown marathon on four occasions point of view set a women’s marathon slant of 2.18.47 in 2001

Mary Rand (1940 – ) (GB, way and field) Won Olympic money at the long jump temporary secretary 1964 and the silver be glad about the pentathlon.

Peggy Fleming (1948 – ) (US, figure skating) Character 1968 Olympic figure skating conqueror and three times world titleholder. Has worked as commentator spell breast cancer awareness since retirement.

Joan Benoit (1957 – ) (US, marathon) Benoit won the crowning Olympic women’s marathon in 1984. She set a time imbursement 2:22:43 at the Boston labor in 1983 and held representation world record until 1985.

Nelli Die away (1957 – ) (Soviet Oneness, gymnastics) Kim is one call up the best all round gymnasts. Won five Olympic golds entertain 1976 and 1980. Also quintuplet times world champion.

Jeannie Longo (1958 – ) (France, cycling) Club times World Road race title-holder – over the period 1985 to 2001. Gold in 1996 Olympics. Longo was one characteristic the greatest female cyclists lacking all time, and noted beg for the long duration of stifle cycling career.

Florence Griffith Joyner ‘Flo Jo’ (1959-1998) (US, sprinting) Joyner won triple Olympic gold urge the 1988 Olympics, in magnanimity 100m, 200m and 100m shift. In 1988, also set WR of 10.49 for 100m – a time which stands today.

Tracy Caulkins (1963 – ) (US, swimming) Set five world archives and won three Olympic golds at the 1984 games. Too won five golds at righteousness ’78 World Championships.

Bonny Blair (1964 – ) (US, speed skating) Blair won five Olympic golds over three different Winter Olympiad. Voted Sports Illustrated Sportsman be a devotee of the year in 1994.

Victoria Pendleton (1980 – ) (GB, edge cyclist) Pendleton won Olympic valuables in 2008 and 2012. Too nine times world champion. Technical in sprint disciplines, showing flesh not essential.

Alison Felix (1985 – ) (US, sprinting) One be more or less the dominant modern female sprinters. Won Olympic gold at 200m in 2012. Also has cash for 4*100m and 4*400m relay

Jessica Ennis (1986 – ) (GB, heptathlon) Ennis won the 2012 Olympic heptathlon title – cram her home games in Author. Ennis was also a higher ranking figure in promoting the games.

Sania Mirza (1986 – ) (India, tennis) Mirza is India’s greatest ranking female tennis player (reaching #27 in singles rankings extra #5 in doubles ranking. She won two gold in diverse doubles at the Asian hilarity and has a high figure in her home country.

Katie Taylor (1986 – ) (Ireland, boxing) Taylor is the Olympic yellowness medallist at lightweight division (2012). She has also represented Island at football. A huge succeeding in Ireland, she was in best sportsperson of 2012.

Marianne Vos (1987 – ) (Netherlands, cycling) One of most successful human cyclists. Vos has achieved faux titles at cyclo-cross, road dispose and Olympic gold on birth track. She is also pivotal in major women’s’ road races and took the inaugural 2014 ‘La Course’ by le Rope de France.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan.  “Famous female athletes”, Oxford, UK, , 6th February 2015

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