Look, it’s not just the people attending the Paris 2024 Olympics who are flying their national flags high right now. Flow is also raising a pink flag, right next to the South African flag, in honour of all the women in sports.
We’ve sprinted through a quick word relay race with some of our Flowstars, passing the baton to each one of them to share their favourite female athletes of all time. In this blog article – almost as short as the time it took Paralympic champion Natalie du Toit to complete a lap – we present their inspiring choices.
Felicia Mngomezulu – intern: digital marketing
Who is your biggest female sports inspiration, past or present? And why?
It has to be [South African wheelchair tennis player] Kgothatso Montjane for me. This lady has broken so many barriers and has recently bagged her third doubles Grand Slam at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
How has her journey influenced your life or career?
Her story has taught me that we don’t always choose our own path in life, but we must grab every opportunity we get with both hands and make the most of it.
What valuable lessons can women learn from her story?
In one of her interviews, she said, “When you have tenacity, you can do anything!” This is one of the lessons that we as women can learn from her. Giving up is not an option; you have to push until you reach your goals.
Nadia Moore – head of marketing
Who is your biggest female sports inspiration, past or present? And why?
I enjoy watching the Olympics. It’s the only time I actively watch sports. There are two 2024 Olympians that I loved hearing about and observing because they were taking part while visibly pregnant. How cool is that? Representing your country and taking your kid (in utero) with you!
The two athletes are fencing Olympian Nada Hafez from Egypt and archer Yaylagul Ramazanova from Azerbaijan. Those women are so cool!
How has their journey influenced your life or career?
I’ve only just heard about these two women, but I like hearing stories such as these, showing how much women can do, in various life stages. Their stories inspire me to chase my dreams not only now, but throughout my life.
What valuable lessons can women learn from their stories?
Our dreams are attainable :)
Miliswa Sitshwele – head of social media
Who is your biggest female sports inspiration, past or present? And why?
Caster Semenya, because she is Caster. Even with all the odds stacked against her, she’s focused on her goal and defies all odds. From her humble beginnings in Limpopo to the world stage, she just does her thing, stays and slays in her lane.
How has Caster’s journey influenced your life or career?
I’m from a rural area myself, where the odds of making it are hard, but I got an opportunity to study and I took it. Caster had the opportunity to run and she took it with both hands. She is inspiring.
What valuable lessons can women learn from her story?
Women can do and be absolutely who they want to be. The sky is never the limit and all our dreams are valid. Every single one.
Heroines closer to home …
Not all our women sports heroes are featured in magazines or showcased on television and radio (at least, not yet). Sometimes, the legend-in-the-making might be someone closer to home, quietly making a nutritious smoothie in your kitchen!
Flow senior writer and editor Sue Blaine has such a hero in her own family – and pretty soon the rest of the world will know the name of this young champion.
Sue Blaine – senior writer and editor
Who is your biggest female sports inspiration, past or present? And why?
I’m going to be a little bit twee here and say my daughter, Heather Welchman. She’s off this month to represent South Africa at the 2024 World Rowing Championships in St Catharines, Canada, as a member of the South African U19 crew.
Rowing is a brutal sport, and Heather has always given it her all, grasping every opportunity with both hands and using her skills to help her team win, from when she was an U14.
She’s taught me so much over her journey, and I’m incredibly proud of her. She has held onto her rowing dreams, even when her parents (yes, me too) were worried about their effect on school work, and she has excelled at both.
She and her team have twice won the South African Schools Boat Race in Port Alfred, Eastern Cape, and she has won gold, with her team, in the South African Schools Championships a number of times.
How has her journey influenced your life or career?
Heather is a cox (like a pilot!) and a rower (that is, someone who manipulates “blades” to zip through the water in a skinny boat), and has not let her slight frame stop her. She has used it to her advantage as a cox and, despite it, has done fantastically as a rower. She’s taught me determination, grit and resolve all over again, and she’s 100% my hero.
What valuable lessons can women learn from her story?
Women often shy away from being overtly determined and super focused, but we can be these things and still be girly. Also, when opportunities come, take them.
(Image: Supplied)
