#women-in-sport

#women-in-sport

At the beginning, the 33yearold says, the big thing was, always, physically can she do it? Will she be able to keep up with the men's game? What happens if she gets knocked over? Is her rugby knowledge there? How will players and fans react to her? That sexism is still there at points, but people now just want to see a game being well refereed. There was no such acceptance at the start of her career in 2015.

When Katie Taylor first began competitive fights, she had to pretend to be a boy in order to box. As a child, her father - and later coach - Pete Taylor, himself a former boxer, had taken Katie with him to the gym when there was no babysitter. There she had seen her older brothers Lee and Peter sparring, and got involved.

The qualities that made Karen Carney an unstoppable winger on the football pitch her speed and attack, and the sheer relentlessness of both are more of a hindrance in the ballroom, for some of the dances at least. As the emerging star of this year's Strictly Come Dancing, she has had to learn to slow down, stand up straighter, to be softer, and it's taken a lot of hard work.

What just happened? Oh my god. This is what we do it for, this is why we get up out of bed every morning at 4am, work our asses off for the last 15 years I've been in this industry, she told Channel Nine. It's tough, it's not all glorious and perfect as everyone can see sometimes.

"the best hangover food you could ever have - you could stand on the gravy"

Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since myself and Ebony Rainford-Brent made our England cricket debuts. It was awesome for us to win World Cups together as the first two female internationals from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Since then, there have been only four others, two with an Indian heritage. When you think of the interest shown in the game by the South Asian community, it is a staggering number.