For our sixth Women in Sport cover shoot, we’re on location at a remote farm in Buckinghamshire. The temperatures are practically Mediterranean, but the heat doesn’t seem to faze Lioness, trailblazer and global icon Chloe Kelly, who shot to fame after scoring the winning goal in the 2022 Euros final. She arrives on set with her three cavapoochons, Otis, Rolo and Brody, raving about an acai bowl she had for breakfast (with Nutella on top, of course; she’s on record as being a huge fan) and—having recently signed with the brand for a reported seven figures—wearing head-to-toe adidas.

As a lifelong Arsenal supporter and Lionesses admirer, it’s hard not to fangirl. I was in the stands for her Euros 2022 winning goal against Germany, which brought glory to the nation for the first time in 56 years. I was in a pub in Euston when she scored the winning Euros penalty last year, cementing England’s first ever double-Euro victory. And I was in the crowd at this year’s Arsenal parade, where the screams for the women’s team were as loud (if not louder) than the men’s.

I’ll never forget her waving her shirt around her head in victory during that 2022 final—a cultural moment that embodied freedom, strength, and unbridled joy. It became a symbol for something much bigger, resonating with women globally and reminding us not only of how strong we are, but what we can achieve. That celebration, alongside the unprecedented win, cemented women’s football as a mainstay and changed the course of history forever.

But for Kelly, it was just another day at the office. “Being at Wembley and winning a major tournament that I’d dreamt of as a young girl was surreal. But then you’re back to reality,” she laughs. “It was all over in a flash—I honestly can’t remember much about it.”

What she does remember is the amazing group of teammates she played alongside, the shift it instigated for growth of the sport, and the post-match celebrations—her favourite being a street party with her parents’ neighbours on the estate she grew up on in West London. “It was really nice to go home, show my medal and celebrate with those people, because actually, they’re the ones that made this moment. When I was young, they allowed me into that cage or pushed me to be better. You learn about yourself in those moments, you know?”

The cage she’s referring to is the enclosed football pitch on Windmill Park Estate in Southall where she spent her formative years playing with her five older brothers (Kelly is the youngest child of seven). She smiles as she admits that most of her happiest childhood memories centre around that cage. “We’d play late at night or early in the morning; whenever we could,” she recalls. “I was the only girl there, which I felt very comfortable with, because they made me feel like I belonged there.”

She also acknowledges how lucky she was to have had that—both having the cage there on the estate and being given access to it—when she knows lots of other young girls still aren’t given that today. “Not having to pay to play sport is something that should be for everyone,” she says. “But I understand that many girls wouldn’t be able to go into that environment and feel comfortable. Thanks to my brothers, I was.” Normalising mixed workout groups and creating safe, welcoming sports spaces for all genders is a change she’d love to see.

To picture a younger Kelly kicking a ball around a council estate is almost hard to envisage now—as one of England’s best players, we’re more used to seeing her playing on pitches at the world’s best stadiums. Alongside scoring several of England’s winning Euro goals in 2022 and 2025, Kelly was ranked fifth in the Ballon d’Or Féminin last year (a season she called her best). Loved by football fans, she’s amassed a cult-like fanbase who praise her for being “clutch” under pressure (videos of Arsenal fans screaming her name went viral in May during the Champions League parade), while to millions of others globally—many of them less interested in the sport than they are in Kelly herself—she’s a role model, icon, and inspiration.

This wasn’t always the case. Kelly was something of a dark horse during the 2022 Euro tournament—she spent a lot of time away from competitive play after a near-year-long injury almost threatened her inclusion in the squad altogether. Her recovery was nothing short of miraculous, and a feat Kelly’s proud of to this day. “To be honest, I was a whole heap of emotions,” she says, looking back at that time. I was out for 11 months with my ACL. Looking at it now, for any player that’s going through that, I hope it can serve as inspiration.”

So much has shifted for women’s football—and Kelly personally—in the past few years, that ACL injury likely now feels like a lifetime ago. She got married in 2024; in 2025, she moved to Arsenal from Manchester City after four years at the club.

Her departure from City last year was dubbed by Sky Sports as “one of the most public and fraught transfers in WSL history”, and Kelly herself has been open about how tumultuous that period of time was for her, both mentally and physically—to the point that her hair started falling out. “I had alopecia, and I never really accepted that,” she admits. “I’d heard about it from people and TV, but when I started losing my hair, I was only 26, and I just thought to myself: ‘I play football because I love it, and now I don’t love it so much, my hair’s falling out.’ It wasn’t the football itself—it was the environment around me,” she reflects.

Another time, she says, her husband, Scott, had to pick her up off the bathroom floor after crippling anxiety and panic attacks left her constantly being sick. “That was the moment for me where I was like, ‘No, this isn’t normal.’ I accepted it as normal for too long.”

It’s hard to picture the footballer stressed, let alone this level of unwell. We’ve met on multiple occasions, and she’s always exuded calm, is constantly smiling, and has a soothing, easy-going presence. Kelly credits therapy, journalling, and a change of environment for rebuilding her mental health. “I worked with an amazing psychiatrist, and I look back at that time now, and I’m like: ‘That’s one in my pocket I can always keep,’ she says. “I have a book that has everything that I’ve learned.”

Speaking candidly about mental health is, Kelly believes, crucial for someone in her position. “It’s important that we speak up and use our voice to show what’s normal and what’s not normal,” she says, “because someone else might not feel comfortable enough to.”

Something that becomes increasingly apparent as we chat is that Kelly—multifaceted, personable, admirably open—is so much more than “just” a footballer. That is, of course, part of her global appeal. Despite fronting campaigns for the likes of Calvin Klein, she remains remarkably down to earth. “I just wanted to be a footballer,” she jokes when I ask her what it’s like seeing her face on billboards.

But being included in global campaigns and getting dressed up for red-carpet events—like the recent Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year Awards (where she shared that being there made her feel like “that girl”)—make her realise how far she’s come. “Sometimes when things aren’t going well, and it’s not great on the pitch, it’s like having a little switch off,” she says. “It’s nice to glam up and not always be in football kit. I love switching it up. I love my streetwear, but I love heels and glamming up, too.”

Reflecting on how her style has evolved over the years, she credits curiosity, growing confidence, and her friend and stylist, Karl Willett. “I love learning about fashion,” she enthuses. “My biggest learning has been to not always just look at what’s on the hanger—you have to like how you wear it, and have the confidence to go with it.”

When I ask her how she deals with the pressure of the global stage and her “clutch” reputation, Kelly is collected in her response. “It’s just my job, really, to be the best I can possibly be in that moment. I never take playing for my country for granted—I just want to give it my all.” She also credits her sister, Paris, for keeping her sane. Paris “hates” football, which helps Kelly to switch off. “I value the balance,” she admits.

Kelly smiles as she recounts the family parties they used to host whenever England were playing in a major tournament—they’d wear their football shirts, complete with captains’ armbands—and host neighbours in the back garden, “Vindaloo” playing on the speaker.

“I’m proud to be English, and I’ve always been a proper England fan.” She grins. “Every time I step on the pitch, I remember that young girl and try to envisage what she’d want as a fan. She’d want energy, excitement, and to win—so I play with my heart on my sleeve and try to create energy from within.”

So, what’s next? Kelly would love to see young girls encouraged into the sport in the same way she was. She can see how much the space has shifted, even in the last three years, but thinks there’s still a way to go. “I watched a video the other day of a young girl going over to her coach. She was one of the only girls in the team. She was uncomfortable and felt like, if she made a mistake, it’s because she was a girl. I’d like to see some change there in terms of mindset.”

Progress is happening, she says, but girls are still feeling like they don’t belong in certain fields. “Hopefully, in the future, there will be more space for those girls to feel like they have a place to go.” In Kelly’s opinion, the onus lies with the parents and the boys: together, they have the power to make spaces inclusive. “Seeing both girls and boys with our names on the back of their shirts is a game-changing moment for us,” she explains, “because the boys could be the ones to make sure those girls are accepted in those environments.”

She’s also passionate about evening out the playing field for existing professional female footballers. The resources and support she and her fellow teammates get at Arsenal is second-to-none (the club has a female health coach and an extensive support network of physios, coaches and trainers to support players through their menstrual cycles, pregnancies and breast health). But not every club offers—or is currently able to offer—the same. “It’s amazing to see the game taking steps forward,” she says, “but there’s so much more that can be done.”

There’s also the pressing issue of the gender sporting gap. Kelly notes that at the moment female footballers are “kind of like guinea pigs”, with regard to monitoring and assessing how the female body responds to training and playing at the level they’re at. “There’s just not enough research, because we haven’t been professional for long enough,” she says. “A lot of research is still on men’s bodies—on the pitches that they play on, and the boots that they wear.” All professional female footballers want, she adds, is the funding, research, and support systems to be able to do their jobs in the same way men can.

Kelly is keen to inspire as many youngsters into football as possible, too, especially those that come from backgrounds similar to hers: “I’m proud to be from West London, and proud to represent that area. If I can inspire young girls and boys to see what’s possible… that’s a mark I’d like to leave.”

“It’s important to remember where I came from,” she continues. “I’ll never forget that young girl from a council estate. That’s what makes me appreciative of my life now and determined to show young girls that anything is possible.”

One thing’s for sure—she’s not slowing down anytime soon. “I’m really happy with my career so far,” she says, smiling, “but I want to win so much more, too.” There’s no doubt at all in my mind that she will.

Photographer - Steph Wilson
Stylist - Lyla Cheng
Managing Director - Hannah Almassi
Editor - Ally Head
Makeup Artist - Athena Paginton
Hair Stylist - Narad Kutowaroo
Manicurist - Nichole Williams at Stella Creative Artists using CHANEL Le Vernis in Skieuse and CHANEL La Crème Main
Videographer - Rebecca Munroe
Photography Assistant - Paulina Mytych
Styling Assistant - Marilena Angelides
Production - Town Productions

When I mention Miquita Oliver, many of you will think of Channel 4's Popworld and the wildly successful Miss Me? podcast, co-hosted with best friend Lily Allen.

The radio host grew up in the spotlight, with a media-facing mother and a childhood that unfolded against the backdrop of London's creative scene.

But her life looks a little different these days. After 25 years on TV and the radio, she now lives in Hackney, walking distance from her cousin Sulaiman (who's also the co-founder of Ropes, her latest venture). Her morning routine is simple, but effective—she chants for ten minutes, listens to Louise Hay's Trust the Universe, and then skips for 20 to 30 minutes outside before her dog walker arrives. While she isn't training with him at the moment, she smiles when she mentions her tennis coach, Faris, who kept her sane during the overwhelming, exciting period that followed the launch of Miss Me? (the show became one of the BBC's most listened-to podcasts within months of launching).

A practising Buddhist, she admits that she now prioritises calm and wellbeing in all areas of her life—when I ask her what she had for lunch, she raves about her current hyperfixation, a huge tuna salad with chickpeas, haricot beans, radish, spring onion, lemon, oil, salt, and leaves from a specific deli near her house that grows its own bags of greens.

The catalyst which inspired this lifestyle shift is surprisingly heartwarming—she loves skipping, and has done since lockdown, when she discovered her love of the sport. A passion that's inspired her to spend the last five years quietly building a new, world-first venture, referring to it as her "calling in life."

Her company, Ropes, has designed the world's first retractable skipping rope—a venture born out of the frustration she felt after years of personal practice. She wanted to make the sport easier, more accessible, more appealing; because skipping, for Oliver, offers a rare pocket of daily stillness in an otherwise unpredictable, always-moving life, and she wants to offer others the same joy.

Ropes is much more than just a business venture, though—Oliver quite literally lights up when we discuss it (at length—she really loves skipping). She's keen to encourage as many people into movement as possible—kids, adults, and anyone who's never found a sport they truly loved. That's why she's also made Ropes part business, part community project, personally taking the sport into schools and communities who might never otherwise have access to the equipment.

Below, she talks us through Her Life In Movement and the version of her day nobody sees on screen—the routines, the joys, the hard-won lessons, and the rope that changed everything.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

Starting out

I started ropes because skipping changed my life. I've always skipped, but I started skipping in lockdown, and it was just this road opener. I was suddenly like, hmm, my body's changing. I feel fantastic. And this is fun.

There's something about jumping up and down. It's something about the reward of jumping over a rope again and again, and then finding your rhythm. That's why our slogan is 'find your rhythm.'

Inspiring others

My stepdad Garfield is a 65-year-old Rasta. He was adamant he couldn't skip—he kept saying he couldn't get it over his dreads. But I kept encouraging him, and he became one of my first skipping converts during lockdown. He was quite overweight at the time, and was really nervous to start.

That was six years ago, and my Dad is now extremely slim and has been since he started skipping. He skips four times a week and swims as well and still loves it. It wasn't just skipping—it was the gateway for him into changing the way he looked after himself.

Having the idea for Ropes

I had the idea while I was walking my dog. I suddenly worked out a way to engineer the skipping rope—a way to build something better. And when those two things came together, I suddenly realised I was really onto something.

Sully and I say a lot—it's not a toy, it's not a sweet. It's a thing that we know is brilliant for people, because it's changed my life, and it's changed my Dad's, too.

Inspiring communities

When we were at a school in Stratford last year, there were about 30 kids who were asylum seekers being housed in a hotel near their school. There are like 20 of them in one room.

When they came to school, and we were doing a Ropes day, there was this one boy who was like: 'I've been cooped up in this space, so it feels really unnatural for me to just jump.'

We were like, 'You've got to do it, you can do it, just jump.' And after about ten minutes he did it, and then after about half an hour, you couldn't stop him. So often it reminds me that this is about more than skipping. It's about who we are, and connecting to the parts of ourselves that are connected to courage and bravery and freedom and joy. That's why when we go to schools, we always say to the kids: dream bigger, jump higher.

My mum showed me that community saved my life and raised me. I don't know what we would have done as a single-parent household without community. So Ropes is very much built from that.

On learning to fail

You trip a lot when you skip, but after a while, the trips don't feel like trips anymore. They feel part of the process, rather than a mistake you have to come back from. And that is a life metaphor. I find a lot of life metaphors within sport—that's why I play so much of it.

Let go and surrender, because that's half of it. The other half is crossing that line with yourself.

On building a body for life

I like being lean, but more importantly, I like to feel strong. I think that's kind of what we all want. I know that these six years of skipping and training will directly affect my health—my body, and my mind—for the next 10 to 20 years.

On skipping as "active meditation"

The idea of jumping up and down has a tendency to scare people. It requires courage and a sense of freedom, but as we all know, all the best things are on the other side of those feelings.

Once you have found your rhythm, which is the thing we encourage most at Ropes, there is a sense of calm that meets a sense of play, and it is truly joyous. That is what active meditation can feel like.

On giving kids access to sport

One of the most important things for Ropes is to debunk the myths around who should play what sport. I wanted to play tennis, badminton, and squash, but I didn’t have access to those things, whether it was the equipment or a court. I now play all of those sports, and skipping was my gateway into an active life as an adult.

I want to show young people, as early as possible in their lives, that taking just a moment for themselves to jump up and down over a piece of rope can exponentially change their lives because it changed mine. We also use skipping to encourage kids to ‘dream bigger, jump higher’ because of who they are and where they come from rather than in spite of it.

On movement helping you feel like you can do anything

Just as it does with kids, the movement of skipping every day reminds me to dream bigger, jump higher, and live with courage. It reminds me how important play is, and when all of these things are remembered, I live differently.

On trying skipping for the first time

To bounce—it's the first thing we teach in Ropes classes. You don’t need the rope; you begin by simply finding that restful place between the bounce and the jump. Once that rhythm is found, pick up your rope and play.

The great thing about skipping is that if you trip, you have to pick yourself up and start again. It makes you resilient to “mistakes”. There is no right or wrong way to skip—you must simply find your rhythm.

This is the first of many products to come. Ropes is just the beginning of our Ropes world, a vision we’re continuing to build and bring to life, where the brand represents more than “just skipping” and serves as a platform for culture, connection, music, movement, and everything that brings people together.

On her favourite bit of life advice

Keep your eye on the prize. I've never felt more like it's a calling or a purpose. I thought broadcasting was maybe my calling, and I do love it, and I'm very good at it. But if life is two chapters, this just feels like the next one.

At 5.30 am on most Sunday mornings you’ll find me tucked up in bed, Drowsy eye mask on and Aromatherapy Associates oil on my pillow. I’m something of a stickler for eight hours of sleep, minimum, and certifiably militant about my sleep hygiene (no screens anywhere near the bedroom, ever).

But not this Sunday. This Sunday, the first weekend of December 2025, I’m at the start line of the Valencia Marathon, bib pinned to my top, headphones in, and carbon plate trainers on. Nerves are bubbling in my stomach. My 4 am coffee has done its best. It’s race time.

Glancing around at the other runners in my pen, I come to the slow realisation that I’m surrounded by men. My little brother, who is running the marathon with me, is one of thousands. I, on the other hand, am one of a handful. In our entire start wave, I spot one other woman—who I instinctively smile at, nodding in solidarity.

Post-race stats confirmed what I’d noticed—of 40,000 runners, only 8,700 were women. At 23% of the total number of participants, that’s less than a quarter.

There’s something inherently lonely about standing on the start line of such a monumental event and questioning whether you should even be there because you’re in the minority. Thankfully, this is becoming something of a rarity in the current running climate—a shift that’s been noticeable, anecdotally and statistically, in the past few years. That start line in Valencia was a reminder, in both good and bad ways, of how much things have changed.

At the Boston Marathon this year, for example, my start pen was packed with female runners, and we spent hours before the race discussing our training, favourite kit picks, and the charities we’d fundraised for. Just a week later, the London Marathon broke the world record with the largest number of finishers at a marathon event ever. But the standout stat for me came in how many women finished—a record 24,000, making up 40% of the field. And that momentum is growing, according to an insider I spoke to shortly after the race, with the 2027 TCS London Marathon ballot attracting a world-record 1,338,544 applications. Women aged 20 to 29? They made up the single largest UK applicant group, with over 179,000 applications.

I’m noticing it in real time, too. London is awash with inclusive, all-paces-welcome, female-only run clubs. Tracks are hosting female-specific track nights. And at every other race I’ve laced up for this year, there are more female runners, too. Hackney Half was a sea of star clips and pink carbon-plate trainers; London Landmarks had entire run clubs of women screaming each other’s names; and I saw so many matching outfits at last month’s Saucony 10km that I actually lost count.

Why now? What’s shifted? And how do we maintain this momentum, ensuring that start lines stay a safe space for women for years to come? Below, I ask industry experts for their take.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

Run Clubs are Full, Marathons are Selling Out—and Women are Driving the Boom

To give you a little background on why I feel it’s so important that we make running and races a safe space for all genders, let me tell you a story. I struggled with my confidence for the majority of my childhood. I vividly remember lying in bed, aged 10, worrying about my weight and praying that the mandatory PE lessons at my new secondary school would help my self-confidence. Looking back, I wasn’t overweight, but I wasn’t sporty, either, and felt constantly insecure about my frame—that was, until I reached my early 20s and found running.

It was a hard slog, at first. I could barely run for ten minutes without feeling like I was going to pass out. But later that year, after months of training and hard work, I completed my first marathon. I’ll never forget how I felt crossing that finish line. Week by week, mile by mile, I stuck at it and cemented a lifelong habit, proving to myself not only that I’m capable of hard things, but that so many of the fears I’d carried about how I looked or how others might perceive me were unfounded.

Running has changed my life, figuratively and literally—and I’m determined to even the playing field and educate as many women as possible on how empowering, life-changing and transformative sport and finding your power through it can be.

What’s Driving the Surge?

So, what has started shifting the dial in recent years? Is it lobbying? Social media? The rise of inclusive, all-paces-welcome run clubs and fairer representation—has there been a fundamental societal shift in what people view running as? A bit of all of the above, according to Heather McCormick, group communications and public affairs director at London Marathon Events.

“Women now make up 46% of all UK runners, and this growth is being driven by a powerful combination of visibility, community and changing attitudes towards what running represents,” she says. “More women are seeing people like themselves running—friends, colleagues, school mums, women of all ages and abilities—and that makes taking on challenges feel far more achievable than it once did.”

Seeing a more diverse representation of women taking on every distance is a powerful reminder that running isn’t reserved for one body type, background or fitness level. Whatever your height, race, hair colour or pace, there’s a place for you on the start line. As McCormick notes: “Representation matters because it changes what’s possible in people’s minds.”

Or as Grace Cook, writer and founder of the culture-led health and wellness media platform Salty, puts it: “We can’t be what we can’t see, and the uptick in women participating in marathons is directly linked to our peers running marathons. Suddenly, this space that was once so male-heavy feels like it’s within reach.”

If You See It, You Can Be It

Social media has undoubtedly played a part in this—content creators with millions of followers now share daily training updates, race vlogs and tips for getting into running as a beginner. They make training look effortlessly cool and fun, even to the most cardio-averse person. While it’s a nuanced subject—ample research indicates that social media usage treads a fine line between positive inspiration and obsessive social comparison, idealised self-presentation, and feedback loops that quietly reshape personal identity and self-esteem—when it comes to moving more, better representation has positively influenced the number of women willing to give sport a go.

While I didn’t have a TikTok feed full of running creators when I started out, I am grateful for them now—they’re encouraging millions of women worldwide to discover the joys of movement. For Cook, it’s more than mere encouragement, too: it’s a reaffirmation of who the sport belongs to. As she puts it: “The boom in content creators and everyday women documenting their runs or simply posting about going for a run gradually changes a woman’s optics around who the sport is for.”

Seeing more and more women take up running, in their own unique ways, has made the sport feel less intimidating and more fun—it has a less elitist feel to it now. “There’s growing recognition of the fact that there’s no set definition of what a runner looks like,” says Emma Bord, a personal trainer and World Marathon Major runner whose content has a special focus on balancing movement and motherhood (she herself is a mother of three). Whatever your pace, goals, dreams, or ambitions, there’s space for everybody—it’s always the taking part that counts, she insists: “If you run, you are a runner, and that mindset makes the sport feel accessible to so many more women who may once have assumed it was not for them.”

Outdated Norms Are Being Challenged

On a wider cultural scale, shifting economic climates and the cost-of-living crisis may go some way to explaining why we’re seeing such an uptick in twentysomething female marathoners. Our parents could afford houses; we’re being priced out. For those keen and fortunate enough to have children, pregnancies are happening later. We’re reshaping what it means to be a woman in your 20s and 30s—what Cook calls “a reframing of social milestones”, which is an apt nod to how different our lives look from the lives our mothers lived 20 or 30 years ago.

“The parameters for heteronormative success have changed,” she explains. “The old benchmarks—a boyfriend or a husband, marriage, a baby, a house—are not necessarily what women are focusing on, and for many, aren’t within reach. A marathon is a huge feat, and it gives women a chance to feel like they are working towards something that’s within their control, especially in a world of gender pay gaps, economic instability, and heterofatalism [the belief that heterosexual relationships are inherently flawed and destined to fail].”

At the same time, we’re reshaping what it means to be a woman who works out—rewriting the rules of activewear, athleisure and the way we dress for movement. Jenna Litner is a digital personality and cultural commentator who’s amassed a cult-like following on social media for her online style series, Your Workout Outfit Looks Like Sh*t. Her take? We’re reclaiming a space that was male-dominated for years and quietly shifting into more expressive workout looks to rebel against the notion that women work out just to look good.

Wellbeing as Status Symbol

That, and that fact that women today seem to be prioritising being truly well over materialistic items, like cars and houses. “Wellness has become something our generation views as a luxury worth investing in,” she shares. “We subscribe to a health-is-wealth mindset, and it’s encouraging to watch that get prioritised for reasons beyond solely appearance. What you gain from participating in sport—like mental fortitude and discipline —matter so much more than how you look. Women are finally being met with spaces that reflect that.”

You may recall the step aerobics and Buns of Steel craze of the 1990s; the boxercise, spin and fitness DVD era of the noughties; and the max-effort, high-heart-rate HIIT classes and bootcamps that defined the 2010s. For decades, women’s fitness trends were often sold with one goal in mind: to get smaller. But today, more women are rejecting the idea that there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to health, instead making time for the types of movement that genuinely bring them joy while benefiting both body and mind.

As our understanding of wellbeing has evolved, so too has our relationship with exercise. Rather than chasing calorie burn or shrinking their bodies, many women are prioritising movement that helps them feel stronger, more energised and more resilient. Bord agrees: “Now, women are turning to exercise to feel stronger, more confident, and generally happier.”

No Need for Speed—or Dated Barriers to Entry

Breaking down the notion that you have to be “fast” to be a runner has also played a large part in encouraging more into the sport—speaking to friends anecdotally, so many confess that they were afraid to lace up for fear of holding people back or embarrassing themselves because of their pace. Jennifer Mannion has played a big part in debunking this preconception with her women-only running community, Runners and Stunners. She believes the biggest hurdle for many women isn’t fitness—it’s feeling confident enough to show up in the first place. “Sometimes women just need the invitation to come along. The intimidation often comes from wondering, ‘Am I fast enough to be here?’ A lot of women feel they need to reach a certain pace or look a certain way to be considered a runner, which isn’t the case.”

Mannion’s goal with Runners and Stunners is simple—to encourage as many women into movement as possible, and to reframe exercise as something that’s joyful, social, and mood-boosting, not a chore. “I hope the idea that slower runners are somehow less worthy is fading, but there’s still a long way to go. You see some women complete their first marathon in over six hours, and the comments are often not a nice place. The win should always be getting up and doing the thing, not how long it took you, especially for everyday runners. Movement is joy.”

Running as a Social Moment

If you live in London, you’ll know that you can’t leave your house on a Saturday or Sunday morning without bumping into a run crew or two. East London has Your Friendly Runners; South, Grove Lane (New Balance wins hearts every London Marathon by spotlighting the everyday runners from these crews in their marathon campaigns alongside seasoned athletes). Stats predict that there are now 100-plus crews in London alone, with over 2,000 run clubs in the UK. Strava saw a 250% increase in running clubs on its platform in 2025 compared to 2024, alongside an 89% year-on-year increase in women joining running clubs.

Community-focused running, where your workout is less about the sport, more about the time with familiar faces, has transformed the sport’s appeal. For many, running has become about far more than the workout itself—it’s about companionship, togetherness, and spending time with friends while also moving your body and taking some time for yourself. “For many, running is as much about friendship, confidence and community as it is about fitness. Running clubs have become places to socialise, and that sense of belonging has made running feel welcoming in a way it perhaps never has before,” says McCormick.

Covid undoubtedly played a part; a global pandemic is one way to remind yourself that time is precious and your health, your ultimate currency. Pair that with a societal shift in how we spend our free time—more saunas, alcohol-free alternatives and activities that leave us feeling rested, not burnt out—and run clubs and races have cemented themselves as the perfect weekend activity.

As Cook points out, it can be hard to make friends as adults, and working alongside someone doesn’t necessarily mean you are a personality match. “Lots of the friendships we have in life are based on geography—school, university and work. Making new friends at a run club gives us the chance to show up as the most present version of ourselves, and to make friends based on lifestyle, personal interests, and a growth mindset. In cities especially, it can be really hard to pin down plans with friends. When I joined my run club, I loved that I could see 40 people without having to make a plan beyond showing up at 9 am on a Saturday.”

Litner also reflects on how running was marketed in the 1990’s and early noughties: for many, it was the default punishment in team sports growing up. “I rarely saw the version where you run with friends to enjoy each other’s company, to encourage one another, to build mental toughness together, to have a genuine human connection and a newfound relationship. Run clubs flipped that. They’re reminding my generation why in-person community is so rich and fulfilling in a way a screen isn’t. It’s a community disguised as exercise (or vice versa). You show up for the people and the miles tick away.”

Kit Is Playing Its Part, Too

Whether you’re a runner or not, you’re likely to have noticed the cultural shift happening around the sport. From the explosion of independent running brands to the rise of elevated performancewear that blurs the line between activewear and everyday fashion, there’s been an undeniable shift towards sport style and self-expression. But is it encouraging more women into the sport, or is it more a reflection of women who were already running feeling freer to show up as themselves?

Cook credits brands like MileOff with bringing more women into the space. “Typical running gear is very masculine-coded, whereas Alice [Bugeja], the designer of MileOff, launched into the market with pastel-coloured running skirts and frilly socks that were like a breath of fresh air,” she says. “Women love to cosplay for sports as much as we do social occasions, and I think feeling good in any outfit is key to reducing the friction or self-consciousness that might prevent us from starting. Many lifelong runners probably will never be interested in wearing a fashion-forward outfit to run in, but the rise of the run girlie might mean they now feel comfortable wearing a tinted moisturiser or a lipstick or cute hair accessories. The more self-expression there is in sport, the freer women feel, period. There’s no one fixed way to show up any more.”

Litner reckons that for many of us, seeing that you’re free to do incredibly hard things while dressing however you want will feel like an invitation into the sport itself. “Women are increasingly prioritising spaces that feel fun and familiar, while also building real physical and mental strength, and running culture feels like the rare opportunity to do both,” she explains.

She encourages her followers to create their own narratives with both sport and style—but for her, it all comes back to confidence and ensuring she feels her best, and Litner encourages the same for her followers: “Confidence is a very nuanced, complicated word, especially for women. Being a bit audacious, whether that’s with your training, your fashion, your styling, or just leaning into your truest form of self-expression, can be liberating.”

Continuing the Change

While there’s always more to be done—after undertaking exclusive research with Sport England last month, we revealed that 46% of women fear for their safety before working out, often causing them to skip workouts altogether—but McCormick believes we’re on the right track. “One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed recently is how normal and more visible running has become for women. You see women running before work, after work and at weekends, with conversations about training becoming a part of everyday life.”

Both McCormick and Bord mention the TCS Mini Marathon, too. “Observing the next generation’s attitude to running at the mini-marathon at my children’s school this year was inspiring,” Bord says. “It was amazing to hear so many of the little girls say, ‘I want to run a marathon one day.’ Watching them find joy in running instead of seeing it as a chore and their belief that they can do something that felt less accessible when I was younger demonstrated how things have changed.”

Litner’s bottom line? The movement isn’t just creating runners—it’s creating women who believe they belong in these spaces who will then help others do the same.

What Next?

So where do our experts see this movement heading—is this a genuine, lasting shift or does it need continued work to stick?

Cook reckons it’s not just a trend, and the movement will continue to grow, but that there’s work to do to meet the demand and ensure women have a good experience once they’re in the community, in the system, and competing in races. “Communities need to have safeguards in place to protect women from unwanted attention, harassment and anti-social behaviour,” she explains. “This is critical to ensure safety, and run clubs and brand-led clubs should have strict protocols in place so women feel safe and comfortable reporting anything untoward. From an infrastructure point of view, we need things like a bathroom in the starting pens. That so many women are taking up running should be celebrated, but the infrastructure needs to enable us to continue doing so.”

McCormick agrees, adding that the demand is undeniably there. “The near-equal gender split in the 2027 London Marathon ballot, alongside the surge in younger women applying, shows that women want to take part in record numbers. The next challenge is retention,” she says. Her aim is to make sure women continue to feel supported after they’ve signed up, whether that’s through welcoming clubs, safe places to run, or better support during life stages such as pregnancy and menopause.

Bottom line? Creating lasting gender equity and encouraging more women into the sport is a complex puzzle, and one that won’t be solved overnight. It requires continued commitment, investment and a collective shift in how we think about who running is for.

The sport needs to be accessible, welcoming and representative; it needs to celebrate women’s achievements, invest in grassroots communities and ensure women feel safe. Because true progress isn’t just about seeing more women taking part—it’s about making sure they feel they belong there, too. As McCormick puts it, “The goal isn’t simply equal numbers on a start line; it’s creating a sport where every woman feels she belongs, feels represented and feels confident enough to keep coming back.”

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Around the world, women’s sport is undergoing a seismic shift, and not just on the field of play. Today’s female athletes are also Harvard graduates, venture capitalists, activists, authors and broadcasters—renowned not only for their performances on the track, court or slopes, but for the multifaceted ways they influence culture across everything from politics and academics to economics and social media.

And that talent and tenacity is more necessary than ever. Because despite enormous strides towards gender parity, economic and social gaps still persist across sport. For instance, while the largest media rights deal in the history of women’s sport was signed by the WNBA this year, the average player still earns 80 times less than those in the men’s game. Turn to the Forbes 2026 list of highest-paid athletes, and you’ll find no female names, but look at the World Athletics report on online abuse at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and you’ll find that 87% of it was directed at female athletes, with Black women disproportionately affected.

What we know, however, is that with the right visibility and support, female athletes can impact society in positive and unprecedented ways. The evidence proves it—80% of female Fortune 500 CEOs played sport in their formative years, while 55% of girls say that watching female athletes makes them feel they can do anything.

Ahead, we spotlight 50 of the women who are shaping the future of women’s sport the world over. From world record holders and Olympic champions to rapidly rising stars, these are the women to know, support and take inspiration from in 2026 and beyond.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

50 Influential Female Athletes To Know, Watch and Follow—in 2026 and Beyond

1. Chloe Kelly

Chloe Kelly’s shirt-waving celebration at the Euros 2022 will forever be etched in our minds, but the Arsenal and England attacking midfielder is far more than that moment.

Now regarded as a clutch player—aka one who stays calm under even the highest pressure—for the way she consistently delivers in such moments, she was responsible for the winning penalty at the 2025 Women’s Euros and played a crucial role in Arsenal’s 2025 Champions League victory over Barcelona.

Off the pitch, she uses her voice, not just to inspire young girls to play football, but to highlight the vulnerabilities that can sit just beneath the surface of success. Speaking on Fearn Cotton’s Happy Place podcast, Kelly opened up about the anxiety, panic attacks and hair loss she struggled with during the transfer process from Manchester City to Arsenal last year.

“You look after your legs when you recover from training, but it was my head that was struggling,” she told Cotton. “Taking a step away and into a new environment was what I needed. I’m in a good place now, but I’ll never forget the times I’ve struggled.”

Her unwavering honesty and tireless commitment to advancing the women’s game are what we’ve come to know of Kelly who, as well as being recently signed by adidas, surely has many more trophies left to lift.

2. Eileen Gu

“I’m the most decorated female freeskier in history,” 22-year-old Eileen Gu responded when a journalist at the Milano Cortina Olympics asked whether she saw her two silver medals as a sign of victory or defeat. Her words, as important today as they were back in February, are characteristic of the two-time Olympian’s self-assured honesty, whose influence on the world is difficult to quantify.

Because aside from her spellbinding performances on the slopes, the Chinese American—who switched to representing her mother’s home country in international competitions in 2019—demonstrates that female athletes are multifaceted and nuanced. A 2026 Stanford Graduate who majored in international relations, Gu has balanced elite sport with studying and an international modelling career while, crucially, advocating for the growth of winter sports for women and girls in China.

3. Serena Williams

Does she need an introduction? Twenty-three Grand Slam singles’ titles (of a total 39, including women’s and mixed doubles) and a professional career spanning over 30 years, Williams epitomises the word icon—not in tennis or even women’s sport, but in sport, period.

And though she’s in the midst of a gradual transition out of international tennis, her global presence shows no signs of fading. Entrepreneurial through and through, Williams currently manages two thriving businesses—a venture capitalist firm called Serena Ventures and Nine Two Six, a multimedia production company that focuses on female and diverse stories.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she’s also the host of the Stockton Street podcast, a series of intimate conversations about careers, family, entrepreneurship and pop culture, which she hosts with her sister and fellow tennis star, Venus.

4. Venus Williams

Who else could we turn to next? One of the most decorated athletes on the planet and a former Marie Claire UK cover star, Venus Williams could serve at 100 mph by the age of 10. Turning pro at just 14, she’d won her first Wimbledon by the time she was 20. It was the first of 23 Grand Slam titles she’d go on to win.

All this was achieved while silently battling undiagnosed uterine fibroids—a topic Williams has become a vocal spokesperson for in recent years. Foregoing her usually private persona, she’s been forthright and honest in her discussions about the years of playing through acute pain and heavy bleeding, as well as her struggles with medical dismissal and misdiagnosis—becoming a vital advocate for medical research into women’s health conditions.

There’s more, of course. Because through her love of fashion and design—she’s a fashion and business graduate and the founder of interior design firm V Starr, Williams has been dismantling stereotypes surrounding presumed oppositions between sport and the arts. “I don’t believe in putting art, or people, in a category,” she told us last year. “Design and wellness—this is kind of where I belong.”

5. Simone Biles

She’s the most decorated gymnast in history, and that’s just the one of the things to know about Simone Biles.

A prominent advocate for athlete mental health, racial equality and protection from abuse, and a champion for the rights and protection of children in foster care, the now 29-year-old appeared on the senior international stage at just 13, before winning her first global all-around title at the age of 16. Since then, she’s added seven Olympic gold, two silver and two bronze medals to her roster.

But it was her decision to withdraw from events at the Tokyo 2020 Games that sparked a crucial conversation about athlete wellbeing. After struggling with the ‘twisties’—a kind of mental block that throws off gymnasts off-balance in mid-air, and can lead to serious injury—Biles’ decision to take time off from competition became the catalyst for a movement to reframe mental health as an essential training component rather than a sideline issue.

Her bravery doesn’t end there. In 2021, she testified against former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar for sexually abusing her under the guise of medical treatment, helping to bring about structural change within the national gymnastics system.

Whether she’ll return to gymnastics for her home Olympics in 2028 is still unknown. What is certain is that Biles is one of the most influential voices in sport, and an inspiration for women globally.

6. Ellie Kildunne

If you’re looking for inspiration, you’ll find it in spades in Ellie Kildunne. Softly spoken and as down-to-earth as a person could be, she’s an Olympian, a Rugby World Cup champion, Six Nations champion and 2024’s World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year.

She’s also known for her mantra, “lukewarm is no good”, a saying taken from Roald Dahl’s book My Uncle Oswald. When we speak, though, I discover she has another phrase in her armoury. “If you want to play in the jungle, you cannot live in the zoo,” she says with a smile. “For me, I see that as: it’s OK to make mistakes, to challenge yourself and be uncomfortable because there’s a whole jungle out there.”

The newly signed Bristol Bears player certainly doesn’t shy away from discomfort and challenge, on and off the pitch. She’s spoken openly about navigating a late diagnosis for ADHD and her struggles with body dysmorphia—topics she delves into in her recently released autobiography, Game Changer. “I don’t want any young girl thinking that they have to restrict themselves, or be controlling or obsessive, to think of themselves as beautiful,” she told the BBC earlier this year.

Her motivation for the future, then, makes complete sense. “I want to drive the women’s game to places it’s never been before, but also I want to seek happiness in everything that I’m doing.” Words to live by.

7. Keely Hodgkinson

Olympic champion, world indoor champion and British record-holder Keely Hodgkinson is raw, honest and open. The 24-year-old, whose Instagram bio reads “always earned, never given”, is that rare mix of ambition and humility: unafraid to set out her stall of mighty goals, while equally ready to acknowledge the challenges and vulnerabilities that go hand-in-hand with elite sport.

At the UK championships this year, for instance, she made the brave decision to withdraw from the start line of the 400m due to tightness in her hamstring. “I think when you’re an athlete and you suffer bad injuries, you can underestimate a little bit of the trauma it leaves in your head,” she told Olympic Channel TV.

It’s this level of honesty and maturity, coupled with her wealth of achievements and playful online presence, that make her a key figure in the popularisation of women’s sports—and an idol for many young girls in athletics.

This year, she’ll race for gold at the European Athletic Championships. Beyond that, anything is possible, but there’s no doubt that many eyes will be set on her performance at the LA 2028 Summer Olympics.

8. Summer McIntosh

In the pool, Summer McIntosh is a machine. Online, she oozes fun. The 19-year-old, who stormed onto the world stage at just 14 when she placed fourth in the 400m freestyle at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is part of a new generation of digital-native athletes who straddle the world of elite sport and content creation.

For her fans, Summer’s vlogs provide an insight into the world of one of the greatest swimmers of her generation. From day-in-the-lives to learning to front flip with cliff diver Molly Carlson, her personality is as captivating as her performances in the pool. “What excites me most is paving the way for the next generation of young female swimmers,” she tells Marie Claire UK when we put the question to her. “Inspiring girls to be brave and dream bigger than ever.”

That she does. McIntosh’s career so far is the stuff of dreams. Comprising three Olympic and two Commonwealth golds, alongside eight World Aquatics champion titles, she’s also the first swimmer since Michael Phelps to break three world records in a single meet. And really, this is just the start. Now training under Phelps’ former coach, Bob Bowman, McIntosh has her sights set on Olympic gold at LA 2028. “I’m focused on all the small and big steps it will take to get there,” she says. “I’ve been training with Bob for almost a year now, and I’m excited to continue working with him every day as we prepare for these next Olympic Games. I know he’ll prepare me to perform at my very best.”

9. Faith Kipyegon

Faith Kipyegon is so good that there are scientific studies dedicated to her potential. A paper published in the Royal Society Open Science concluded that she could break the four-minute mile—a feat previously considered impossible for women. She’s yet to do it (last year she came close in a Nike-sponsored race in Paris), but it seems only a matter of time.

It would be the icing on the cake of an already illustrious career. The greatest female middle-distance runner in history, she is a world-record holder in the 1500m and the mile, and the first woman in history to win three consecutive Olympic golds over the 1500m. Add to that an Olympic silver in the 5000m, and you’re starting to paint the picture of this remarkable athlete.

And yet, off track, there’s a bigger story. Because after giving birth to her daughter in 2018, Kipyegon made it her mission to transform maternity care in her rural town of Keringet, Kenya, where expectant mothers walk up to 35km to receive treatment. “I see women go into labour full of hope, carrying life, carrying dreams, and too many times, they come back empty-handed,” she explains over email. “Not because they did anything wrong. But because the care they needed was too far away, too limited, or simply not good enough.”

Kipyegon’s mission is to open a mother-and-baby facility in the town, transforming birth safety for mothers and babies. Named the Dare to Dream Maternity Ward, the project is being funded by Nike and is set to open later this year.

10. Sky Brown

The world first met Sky Brown in 2012 when, at just four years old, a video of her ripping at the skatepark went viral on YouTube. Now 17, she’s gone on to become the darling of British skateboarding—our first world champion in the sport, a two-time Olympic medallist, a two-time X Games gold medallist, and the first female skater to land a frontside 540 (a one-and-a-half aerial rotation): a feat Brown achieved at the age of just 11.

Central to her career is inspiring other girls to take up skateboarding. “I wanted to be in the Olympics to inspire girls to get out there,” she told TNT Sports in a documentary released in 2022. In 2024, she continued that mission with the release of her first children’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Skateboarding.

What’s next for her? After narrowly missing out on Team GB’s Olympic surfing team for Paris 2024, she’s hinted at plans to successfully bag the skate-surf double at LA 2028. Watch this space.

11. Allyson Felix

So you thought that the most decorated track and field athlete in history had retired? Think again. In April this year, 400m legend Allyson Felix announced her plans to target the LA 2028 Olympics during the debut episode of her new podcast, Built To Last.

And who would doubt her? The 11-times Olympic medallist has been challenging the status quo since 2009, when she made the watershed decision to be managed by her brother, Wes—a choice that was met with resistance by the establishment at the time.

Felix has since gone on to become not only one of the greatest athletes of all time, but a thriving entrepreneur and maternal health activist, after her long-time sponsor, Nike, proposed to cut her pay by 70% when she fell pregnant. Following unsuccessful negotiations with the brand, Felix wrote a powerful op-ed for The New York Times that opened a conversation that transcended sport and set a new precedent for maternal rights of athletes.

Things didn’t stop there. After her split from Nike, Felix founded her own footwear brand, Saysh, becoming the first track athlete to compete in her own shoe. “It’s so much deeper than selling shoes,” she told Bloomberg. “It’s about impact. If people feel seen and represented, and we start to shift the culture, that would be success.” Felix remains at the helm of the brand, which has a policy of allowing women to exchange their shoes for a new size if their feet swell in pregnancy. She juggles it with motherhood, campaigning for improvements to maternal healthcare for Black women, podcasting and a return to elite sport.

12. Ilona Maher

Former Marie Claire UK cover star Ilona Maher is the most well-known rugby player on the planet. With over 10 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, she’s nothing short of a sensation—known as much for her work dismantling body image standards as she is for her performances on the pitch. Not that she believes it.

“Ask people who the best rugby player in the world is, and they probably won’t be able to name the woman,” Maher told us last year. “But they can name that funny girl online. It’s a focus on connecting with people.”

Whatever her take on it, her approach works. Her short-term signing for the Bristol Bears from January to March last year catapulted interest in the women’s game, instantly giving the club the biggest reach in the league and forcing entire stadium switches to accommodate the increased demand in match attendees.

If her work championing women’s body acceptance and diversity is perhaps what she’s most known for—her hashtag #beastbeautybrains has become a mantra for women the world over—she’s also a vocal critic of the pay gap between men's and women’s sport. “I would love to get on the field and just play rugby and make a million dollars,” Maher told us. “But that’s not possible right now. I don’t think there’s a single women’s rugby player in the world making over £100,000. How do you expect me to focus on the field when I can’t support myself or live a comfortable life?”

Maher’s pragmatic and tenacious work ethic is just another reason to admire her. She’s business savvy, ambitious both on and off the field, and has done the work to get to a point of confidence—in her body, her talent and her skillset. As well as being an Olympic bronze medallist and one of the best rugby players in the world, she’s a podcaster, a Sports Illustrated cover star and swimwear runway model, and, according to industry bible SportsPro, the third most marketable athlete—behind only Lewis Hamilton and Simone Biles—in the world.

13. Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is a great tennis player and, we would argue, an even better person.

One of the most prominent social activists in the world of sport, her rise to fame skyrocketed in 2018 when she beat her childhood idol, Serena Williams, in the final of the US Open. From there, Osaka had a gold rush, becoming the first Asian woman to be ranked number one in the world in 2019, when she was just 20 years old, and winning three further Grand Slam titles by 2021.

At the same time, she was emerging as one of sport’s most prominent political figures, through her on- and off-court protests against police brutality as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Her work, which was received well by tennis organisations, the media and the public, set a new example and precedent for athletes’ role in politics.

It was in 2021, after withdrawing from the French Open, that her activism expanded to the realm of mental health. Using her voice to address issues of social anxiety, depression and the lack of athlete welfare protections in sport, she raised global awareness and sparked structural reform, which led to a three-part Netflix documentary and a celebrated essay—It’s OK not to be OK—for TIME magazine.

Then there’s her enviable sense of style, using her profile as an opportunity to spotlight independent designers and showcase her heritage. In a press conference at this year’s Wimbledon, she said, “I would actually prefer to talk about my clothes. In some ways I feel like I’m a lot more equipped to talk about my clothes than to talk about my tennis.”

Whether you follow her for her tennis, style or activism, Naomi Osaka isn’t just one to watch—she’s one you can’t take your eyes off.

14. Alysa Liu

Want to know a thing or two about staying true to yourself? Ask Alysa Liu. The Olympic gold medallist, who temporarily stepped away from figure skating due to burnout after becoming the youngest US national champion of all time, was told repeatedly that she’d have to change her now-trademark striped hair when she returned to the sport.

To which, she said, no. End of. “These days, I say no to more things than I say yes to,” she confirmed in an interview with her sponsor, Nike, earlier this year. “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no.”

That fierce individuality is part of what makes her such a joy to watch. Her performances, which are a heady mix of elegance, fun and flair, led her to become the face of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics back in February, where she won gold in stunning fashion. It’s also what makes her such an inspiration, both within and beyond sport.

“It’s cliche—but you really only live once,” she told Nike. “If something is feeling too hard mentally or physically, take a break and try other things. Step away, reassess and see if it pulls you back in. If it does, great. And if it doesn’t, then maybe you’re being pulled toward something completely new.”

15. Demi Vollering

“It all starts with dreaming,” goes the motto of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes champion, Demi Vollering (who, at the time of writing is going into this year’s race as the favourite, too). She has also won the world’s two other major multistage cycling races: La Vuelta Femenina (twice, in 2024 and 2025) and the Giro d’Italia Women, in June this year. Vollering is only the second woman to have won this trio of races.

The Dutch cyclist, who comes from a family of greenhouse growers, left her job as a florist to go fulltime on the bike in 2019 and has been outspoken about removing taboos around athlete menstrual health, as well as the importance of exercise for mental health in the years since.

She’s also been a pioneer in the growth of women’s cycling, speaking out about the need for new age group categories and better broadcast coverage of events. “I want to do what Serena Williams did for tennis,” Vollering said in an interview with The Guardian. “She’s much more than a tennis player. She transcended the sport and showed young girls that they could dream bigger.”

16. Leah Williamson

Watch any interview with the captain of the Lionesses, Leah Williamson, and you’ll feel the gravity with which she holds her position. She knows the weight of responsibility that comes with the shirt she wears; the number of young girls she inspires every time she steps onto the pitch; and the doors she and her teammates are opening for future generations.

It’s not just the back-to-back Women’s Euro victories she led the team to in 2022 and 2025; it’s the openness with which she talks about her battles with injury, endometriosis, performance anxiety and her devotion to creating more opportunities for the next generation of female and LGBTQ+ footballers.

In 2023, Williamson was awarded an OBE for her services to football; in 2026, this was upgraded to a CBE in acknowledgement of her achievements on behalf of her team at Euro 2025. As for what’s next? All eyes are on the squad qualifying for the Women’s World Cup (which she missed in 2023 due to injury) ahead of the tournament, which takes place in Brazil next June.

17. Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark burst onto the global stage during her collegiate career, where she became the greatest scorer in NCAA Division I history across both men and women—surpassing the record held by Pete Maravich in 1970.

Since then, she’s been shattering WNBA records for her team, Indiana Fever, helping to drive visibility and viewership for the women’s game. In fact, it’s been suggested that in 2024, she was responsible for 26.5% of all WNBA economic activity after factoring in revenue from merchandise, ticket sales, and television.

Off court, she’s the founder of the Caitlin Clark Foundation, a non-profit that expands access to education, nutrition and sports for children across the USA.

18. Shamera Sterling-Humphrey

Shamera Sterling-Humphrey is one of the best defensive netball players in the world. The Adelaide Thunderbirds player is a three-time winner of the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) league, one of the most competitive series in the world.

This year, Sterling-Humphrey has become known as much for her off-court candour as her remarkable interceptions. In 2025, after giving birth to her son, she suffered from postpartum depression. Speaking openly on Sky Sports’ Off the Court podcast in May this year, she shared her journey through depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, which shaped her first few months of motherhood.

She’s since returned to competitive netball, winning her third SSN, but is unafraid to say she’s not yet out the other side. “I’m grateful to say that I’m a bit better now but I’m not where I want to be,” she said on Off the Court. “I’m still trying to find myself. I have my good days and my bad days, but I’m still not the Shamera I used to be.”

19. Jamie Chadwick

Women haven’t always been welcome in motorsports. Challenges from intermittent gendered bans as far back as the early 20th century to a longstanding lack of investment in young female go-kart drivers have ensured female drivers have been kept fighting on the sport’s fringes for years. That was until 2022, when former racing driver Susie Wolff set up the F1 Academy to increase female participation in driving.

A driver like Jamie Chadwick, therefore, has defied all the odds to be in her current position. Introduced to the sport via karting at age 12, Chadwick quickly climbed the ranks to become the youngest driver—and first female—to win a British GT title at just 16. Her career of firsts has continued since: she’s the first woman to win a Formula 3 race and the only woman to have won a race in the European Le Mans series.

Inspiring other women to enter the sport is central to everything Chadwick does, whether that’s speaking on podcasts, serving as a pundit for Sky Sports, or in her role as an F1 Academy advisor for Williams Racing. “People are finally recognising the level of talent that’s always been there,” she tells me. “In motorsport, we’re seeing more pathways, more visibility and more young girls believing they can have a place in the sport. That’s incredibly exciting.”

20. Gabby Thomas

When Gabby Thomas shattered her 200m personal best at the 2021 US Olympic trials, the world sat up and noticed. She crossed the line over half a second faster than she’d ever run before, placing her third on the all-time list behind sprint legends Florence Griffith Joyner and Elaine Thompson-Herah. “Overnight, I went from almost unknown to a favourite,” she revealed to Marie Claire UK earlier this year. “The attention and expectations were a lot to manage, but I couldn’t have been more excited to be on that Olympic team.”

She went on to take home two medals—a silver and a bronze—at the 2022 Olympics, and four years later went one step further when she became the first American woman since Allyson Felix to win three gold medals on the track in a single Olympics at Paris 2026. “She [Felix] was my original inspiration in sport,” Thomas tells me now. “I saw a lot of myself in her, so it felt very full-circle. The other day at a cafe someone actually mistook me for her, which I took as a huge compliment.”

Her performances on the track are just one side of Thomas. The Harvard graduate who majored in neurobiology and global health is focused on closing the racial health disparity gap and, in the run-up to Paris, spent five years working at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic in Austin, Texas. As she told us back in May: “Giving back to my community helps fill my cup.”

21. Carissa Moore

In Hawaii, 4 January is Carissa Moore Day. The state officially recognised the surfer in 2016 for the leadership, grace and aloha she brings as a competitor and role model for young women. At the time, Moore was a three-time World Surf League (WSL) champion—the youngest ever to take the title at just 19 years old. Since then, she’s gone on to win the first Olympic gold in surfing history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and has added two more WSL championships to her medal roster.

She returned to the Olympic stage at Paris 2024, while pregnant, riding one of the heaviest reefs in the world with her baby on board. And though she’d talked about retirement afterwards, she’s now back to number two in the world, with no sign of slowing down.

Moore is also the founder of Moore Aloha, a charity organisation dedicated to supporting women’s and girls’ mental health. They focus on events which promote mindfulness, physical and emotional wellness and environmental responsibility.

22. Hannah Cockroft

Dubbed Hurricane Hannah by the media following her storming success at the London 2012 Paralympics, Hannah Cockroft is a nine-time Paralympic champion, 19-time World Para Athletics champion and a fervent activist for disability rights and inclusion.

“Growing up, I went to mainstream schools where I was always the only disabled child,” Cockroft told the Sports Gazette in 2021. “PE for me was reading a book in the library or sitting and watching or keeping score of my friends’ games. It was never getting involved.”

At the age of 12, however, after watching a wheelchair basketball demonstration at her school, the world of para-sport opened up. Today, she’s one of the most decorated British athletes in World Para Athletics Championship history, with five Paralympic gold medals and multiple world records to her name. And after becoming a mother for the first time earlier this year, her sights are firmly set on backing a return for the 2028 Olympics in LA.

23. A’ja Wilson

A Met Gala debut, TIME Athlete of the Year, a New York Times bestselling author who just happens to have a signature footwear line with Nike—oh, and the fastest ever player in WNBA history to reach 6,000 points scored: all in a career that is very much far from over for basketball player A’ja Wilson.

Becky Hammon, her coach at Las Vegas Aces, calls it the it factor. This “thing” that the South Carolinian—who is a four-time league MVP and the first player in WNBA history to score over 1,000 points in a single season—has. “I run out of adjectives for her,” Hammon told Vogue back in March.

No wonder she was offered richest contract in WNBA history to ensure Wilson remained with the team back in April, making her the first player in the league to earn seven figures—and, in the process, forever moving the needle on salary expectations for female athletes. It’s something she’s deeply passionate about. “This isn’t just like, ‘Oh, I want the million-dollar contract.’ This is for the generations after me, Wilson told Vogue in the same interview. I don’t have a problem sitting at the table until we get what we want and get what we deserve.”

Wilson also speaks openly and vulnerably about her mental health, as an athlete and as a Black woman. In an essay penned for The Players Tribune in 2021, she described her struggles with anxiety, depression and grief, and her decision to go to therapy. If you read one thing today, let it be that.

24. Fran Hennessy

Whenever I’m doubting myself, I think back to the video of nine-year-old Fran Hennessy, a smile plastered on her face, going for her eighth lap of the athletics track with her Dad, Mick, shouting words of encouragement from behind the camera.

From that little girl to an undefeated 9-0-0 professional boxing record (with two knockouts) 11 years later, Hennessy is now aiming to become the youngest ever undisputed four-belt bantamweight world champion across both men and women. At the time of writing, she has just under a year to make it happen.

Hennessy has spoken openly in the past about her childhood struggles with body image and dyslexia, and using humour as a protective mechanism for these insecurities. In boxing, though, she found home—a place where she could grow in confidence and enter pure flow.

Hennessy’s fight against the current reigning bantamweight world champion, Cherneka Johnson, isn’t yet fixed, but watch this space because it won’t be far away.

25. Zoe Bäckstedt

“Don’t limit your challenges, challenge your limits,” says Zoe Bäckstedt when I ask her for the mantra she lives by. It checks out. The 21-year-old seems to be almost limitless on a bike.

Back in June, just a week after winning a stage of the Tour de Suisse Femmes, she became double national champion in the elite women’s time trial and the road race; victories which see her make her mark on the senior stage after a stunning junior career, which included multiple World Championship titles.

While Bäckstedt is still at the very start of her career, many have tipped her to be the future of British cycling across road and cyclo-cross. As for what motivates her? “Right now, it’s the will to push myself to the limit in all my races and fight for that victory.”

26. Nelly Korda

It’s a big year for Nelly Korda. The 27-year-old world number one is US Open champion and just two points away from being inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame—an honorary club of just 35 women who, between them, make up the greatest golfers of all time. And she’s just one world major away from completing the career Grand Slam. If she does it, she’ll be only the eighth woman in history to have won four major golf tournaments.

Her career, of course, is already peppered with greatness. A gold medal in her Olympic debut in 2020 paved the way for 2024, her most successful season to date, where she clocked five consecutive tournament wins. A number that equalled the record for the longest winning streak in women’s golfing history.

Off the course, she’s thriving, too. Deals with Nike, Goldman Sachs and Delta contributed to her becoming the seventh highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2025, while her appearance in Sports Illustrated’s iconic 2025 swimwear issue, alongside Ilona Maher, Anna Hall, Gabby Thomas and Eileen Gu, has contributed to the celebration of strong, athletic bodies within media.

27. Laviai Nielsen

If Laviai Nielsen could relive any sporting moment from her career thus far, it would be winning an Olympic medal alongside her twin sister, Lina, at Paris 2024. “After everything we’d been through—all the setbacks and disappointments in trying to reach our dreams—winning that medal with my best friend is something I’ll never be able to put into words,” she writes over email.

It seems a long way from the 16-year-old Nielsen who carried Jessica Ennis-Hill’s kit at the London 2012 Olympics. Back then, competing on the senior world stage was just a dream. Twelve years later, it was her reality. That reality, however, didn’t come without setback. In 2021, just two weeks before Nielsen was set to make her Olympic debut, she received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a lifelong condition that affects the nervous system. Her sister, Lina, also has the condition and the pair have since been dedicated to raising awareness, particularly on social media, where they both share the highs and lows of elite athlete life.

“My sister and I kind of understood that we had a bit of a social responsibility with telling our story,” Nielsen told Olympics Channel TV in 2024. “We want to show people that even though there might be a roadblock, you can still continue. It might be on a different path, but you might still get to the same place.” At time of writing, that place is Glasgow, where the 2026 Commonwealth Games is underway and, where she has her sights set on a medal. With her kind of resilience, who’d doubt her?

28. Funmi Fadoju

Growing up, Funmi Fadoju’s idol was Serena Williams. “It’s not just because she’s the GOAT,” she says, “it’s because she was unapologetically herself. She never asked for permission to take up space, and she showed me that greatness isn’t about fitting into people’s expectations. It’s about having the courage to define your own, which is something I try to do every day.”

That she does. Fadoju is one of netball’s brightest rising stars, playing in defence for London Pulse and England’s Vitality Roses. Named Netball Super League Young Player of the Season in both 2021 and 2022, she’s since become a prominent figure in senior squads, earning over 40 caps for the Roses.

This summer, she’ll be on court at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, an event she hopes will continue to build momentum for netball, and women’s sport more widely. “It’s really amazing to be part of this moment in history,” she says. “In netball, we’re seeing more investment, more visibility and more opportunities than ever. I hope the Games will continue to catapult women’s sport to another level.”

With consistently impressive performances on court already attracting deals with the likes of Nike, there’s little doubt that the future looks rosy for this defensive superstar.

29. Doriane Pin

It’s been 34 years since a female driver entered an F1 race. The question of why is a complicated puzzle, involving investment, visibility, prejudice and stigma. But now, with a fresh wave of female drivers rising through the ranks of the F1 Academy, the idea of female representation in an F1 race feels closer than ever. At the helm of this movement is French 22-year-old Doriane Pin, the Mercedes driver who won 2025’s F1 Academy series.

Having begun her go-karting career when she was nine, Pin’s been making strides towards her dream of driving in an F1 race ever since. 2026 has already been a momentous year in that journey, with Pin becoming the first woman to drive a Mercedes F1 car back in April. Her maiden test, which took place at Silverstone, involved 76 laps of the track in the 2021 title-winning W12.

Watch this space.

30. Ros Canter

Ros Canter’s daughter, Sener, was just 16 weeks old when her mum won her third Badminton—the world’s largest equestrian eventing competition outside of the World Championships—in May 2026. The baby was no stranger to horseback, having literally been there with her when a five-months-pregnant Canter won Burghley at the end of 2025.

These are remarkable achievements, ones which sit alongside gold medals at the Olympics and World Equestrian Games, and which go a long way to dismantling the stigma around maternity in sport.

At Belsay Horse Trials this year, when asked about what had changed since giving birth with regard to keeping up with her own training, Canter joked: “Sener has lost a bit of her routine since Badminton, so I have some time in the middle of the night.” Clearly, nothing will stop her.

31. Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky is the ultimate professional. The nine-time Olympic gold medallist, 23-time World Champion and New York Times bestselling author has been winning global medals since she was 15. Fourteen years later, she’s as focused and humble as she was then, despite holding the record for the most Olympic gold medals in women’s swimming, and the equal highest number across any sport.

“When I was six years old, I never even dreamed of making it to one Olympics,” she told the Hurdle podcast last year. “When I won a gold medal, my family and I had a conversation, and we realised that anything more than that is icing on the cake. None of us ever imagined I would make it that far in the sport.”

That doesn’t mean she’s not ambitious. Despite breaking 17 world records so far, the swimmer is far from finished. “I’m always eager to chase something new. I’m not perfect, and I haven’t achieved every single one of my goals,” she told Hurdle. “I love the chase, I love the journey, I love the process.”

Passing on the learnings from her remarkable sporting career is a huge part of her athletic identity. She’s an advisor to Athleta’s Power of She collective and has worked closely with Billie Jean King’s Women’s Sport Foundation, which funds research and provides financial support to aspiring athletes, while also advocating for female athletes around the world.

32. Menna Fitzpatrick

Have you ever skied in low cloud with a blizzard swirling around you? That’s how Menna Fitzpatrick describes her experience as a visually-impaired skier. Britain’s most decorated winter Paralympian was born with congenital retinal folds, meaning that she has no vision in her left eye and very limited sight in her right eye.

Not that it’s never stopped her. At the age of five, she was skiing on family holidays; her dad guiding her down the mountain. Today, she has six Paralympic medals, having burst onto the international scene in 2016 when she won the World Cup title for visually impaired skiing.

At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics, she secured four medals, making her the most successful British athlete at a single Winter Games. Two further medals came at Beijing 2022, and at this year’s Milano Cortina Games, Fitzpatrick returned to elite-level competition despite suffering an ACL injury just a few weeks prior. Focused is an understatement.

33. Dina Asher-Smith

Dina Asher-Smith is the fastest British woman in history. The record-breaking athlete first dipped below the magical 11-second barrier over the 100m in 2015. She’s since lowered that mark even further, running 10.83 seconds to win silver at the World Championships in Doha 2019. At that same competition, she became the first British woman to win a global sprint title when she took gold in the 200m, firmly cementing her place in the history books.

Despite her commitment to track, Asher-Smith has always maintained an identity beyond sport. Graduating from King’s College London with a history degree in 2017, she’s since turned her eye to fashion and has been the face of numerous global campaigns, including the 2026 launch of the La Ferrari Dino handbag.

Now training in the USA, Asher-Smith is set to compete at this year’s European Championships, having pulled out of the Commonwealth Games due to injury. We do not underestimate her chances.

34. Aitana Bonmati

For three consecutive years, Aitana Bonmati has been FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. The midfielder, who plays for Spain and FC Barcelona Femení, is also a three-time Ballon d’Or winner; an individual award considered the most prestigious in the game.

And now her tactical analysis is becoming as respected as her game, after she stepped into broadcasting for the men’s 2026 World Cup. Working with Mexican network TUDN, she’s been praised for her breakdowns of what’s happening on the pitch and why.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2024, Bonmatí credited her mental state as the defining characteristic behind her success. “Talent is one thing, and you can work hard as well, but without this mentality of sacrifice, resilience, fight and to want to be better every day… I wouldn’t be the person I am today,” she said.

35. Katarina Johnson-Thompson

To know the footprint of Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s career is to know that she is a master of resilience. After stepping out onto the world stage as a 19-year-old at the London 2012 Olympics, where she could soak up the experience in the shadow of Jessica Ennis-Hill’s Golden Girl pressure, she was thrust into the limelight as Britain’s next heptathlon superstar.

And that she is. Look at her medal cabinet, which includes an Olympic silver, two World Championship golds (plus a further bronze), multiple Commonwealth Games titles and a cluster of international indoor medals.

Such achievements, however impressive, have been far from easy to accrue. KJT, as she’s affectionately known, has battled through her fair share of challenges, including a ruptured Achilles just months before the Tokyo Olympics. If anything, such hurdles have only made her stronger, with a reputation for wearing her heart on her sleeve that is equally admirable in the world of professional competition.

In 2024, after her Olympic silver, she released her book Unbroken in which she addressed her struggles and triumphs in equal measure, including a candid reflection on her teenage body image battles. It’s an essential read, not only for young athletes, but for women navigating ambition, confidence and relationship to their body.

36. Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff’s entry onto the world stage was something of a fairytale. In 2019, she became—at the age of just 15—the youngest player in history to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon, going on to beat her childhood idol Venus Williams in round one. She made it to round four in the tournament, by which time she’d cemented herself as one of the most exciting prospects in the game to date. By 2023, her transformation to champion was complete when she achieved her first Grand Slam title on home soil at the US Open.

Since then, she’s become an icon on and off the court, adding the French Open 2025 to her Slam singles’ titles and becoming—like fellow pros Naomi Osaka and Venus Williams—one of the players cementing the intersection of high fashion and sport, having built globally successful collaborations with sportswear brand New Balance and fashion house Miu Miu.

37. Daryll Neita

You might think fourth place is the most agonising position to finish in athletics. Not Daryll Neita. When the second fastest British woman of all time missed out on a medal in her Paris 2024 Olympic final, she focused on the positives: “Stepped up when it mattered and did myself proud,” she shared on Instagram after the race. “Last place in the final in Tokyo, fourth place today. One thing about me, I’m gonna keep pushing.”

That unbreakable self-belief is what makes Neita so exciting. “I’ve always believed that I’m born to do track and field,” she told Marie Claire UK. “I believe that I can be the best. I just believe it.”

We believe it too. But Neita’s career isn’t just about her own performances. The sprinter is as committed to getting the next generation onto the track as she is to winning medals (and she has won plenty of medals, including Olympic, as well as at European and world championships). In 2024, she founded the Daryll Neita Athletics Community to inspire children to participate in sports, launching it with a sports day for over 100 students, and has plans to build out a programme of mentorship, workshops and events. The message she’s sending? The same one she’d tell her younger self: Never stop believing.

38. Emma Finucane

Look at 23-year-old Emma Finucane’s June photo dump, and you’ll find a mix of family photos, holiday shots, mirror selfies, pizza and coffee. You’ll also find videos of her front squatting 80kg, being interviewed alongside cycling legend Victoria Pendleton and riding in velodromes all around the world. All just part and parcel of life as the world’s fastest female cyclist who, back in February, broke the world record for the flying 200m event.

Finucane’s talent has been evident for a while. In Paris, at just 21, she won a hat-trick of Olympic medals—one gold, two bronze—to add to her first World Championship title in 2023. Since then, she’s become a two-time world champion, has signed with Adidas and become a host of the Watts Occurring Femmes podcast, a show dedicated to year-round cycling content.

“I’m not afraid to admit that I have big and bold dreams for myself,” she says when we catch up with her. “I’m motivated to be the most successful women’s sprinter there is, and I’ll chase that unless my body says otherwise.” And she wants to lead by example: “I hope to show young girls that being ambitious, and having dreams and goals, isn’t unrealistic. You can make them your reality.”

39. Zoe Atkin

I can lose hours watching the days-in-the-life vlogs of Stanford student and pro skier Zoe Atkin, who is “just a girl”—albeit one who majors in symbolic systems (a programme that combines computer science, psychology, maths and AI) and happens to also be a world champion. Oh, and an Olympic bronze medallist.

Atkin’s vlogs provide a look behind the curtain at the juggle that is student-athlete life, including training, nutrition, study, recovery and her passions outside of sport. What she shows, whether she means to or not, is the person behind the elite athlete. Her feed is, quite simply, a hugely positive place to be.

Speaking with Marie Claire UK ahead of this year’s Winter Games, she said: “It’s been a huge journey since my first Olympics in 2022. My mindset is something I work on every day. I’m very conscious of my thought patterns and emotions; I practice meditation and mindfulness every day, which really helps me to stay present.”

Sharing messages around women’s strength and body positivity, being open about the psychological side of sport, and just—quite simply—getting on with things. Inspiring and practical: that’s Atkins all the way.

40. Sydney Levrone

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been making history since she was 16. The then high-schooler finished third at the Olympic trials in a new world junior record and became the youngest US track and field athlete ever to make an Olympic Games, going on to compete at Rio 2016.

As we now know, that was just the start for the 400m hurdler, who has gone on to become the only track athlete ever to break four world records over a single event. Those records—which included becoming the first female 400m hurdler to run under the magical 52 and subsequently, 51-second barrier—feature alongside four Olympic and four world championship gold medals.

That medal tally is currently on pause, as McLaughlin-Levrone has recently given birth to her first baby. With plans to make her return to training in time to target the LA 2028 Olympics, naturally.

41. Emma Raducanu

On a warm New York day in September 2021, a British A-Level student—one Emma Raducanu—became the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title. And she did it without dropping a set. That single game catapulted her onto the world stage and, as the first British woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1977, firmly into the hearts of the British public.

In the five years since, Raducanu’s battled injury, illness and coaching changes—all under the scrutiny of the world’s media. “Long term, I want to win Wimbledon. That’s my number one goal,” she told Marie Claire UK back in 2024 (this year’s tournament was not to be the one, after being forced to withdraw due to a stress fracture). “I think it’s very easy in tennis to panic, and I’m guilty of it. You feel like you only have 10 years of your career ahead of you, and that it’s going to be over before you know it.”

Despite the pressure, she remains level-headed—and committed to a life both on and off the court. Whatever her Grand Slam status, a headline deal with Uniqlo, announced earlier this year, is just the latest of a long list of notable ambassadorships, including Dior, Tiffany, Evian, Porsche and British Airways, demonstrating her continued pulling power. Power that Raducanu makes good work of in other areas, too, regularly offering her time to inspire younger generations in tennis, visiting children at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and supporting community initiatives such as Surplus to Supper, which works to combat food poverty.

42. Yaroslava Mahuchikh

Very few athletes have won a World Championship gold. Let alone after a gruelling three-day escape from their war-torn home. In 2022, Ukrainian high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh—who was 20 at the time—won the World Indoor Championships in Serbia after a gruelling 2,000km journey by car through the Russian invasion.

Mahuchikh subsequently lived and trained as a refugee in Germany, Belgium, Estonia and Portugal, staying in touch with family and friends back at home via texts and calls. Still living away from home in 2024, Mahuchikh broke a world record that had stood since 1987, clearing a historic 2.10m at the Paris Diamond League, going on to win Olympic Gold just a few weeks later. At the end of the season, she was named Women’s Field Athlete of the Year at the World Athletics Awards for her undefeated year and world-record-breaking jump.

“Sport unites, sport helps, and athletes help each other,” Mahuchikh told Olympic Channel TV the year she left home, speaking of both her personal circumstances and wider beliefs in what sport can achieve.

And really, she’s just getting started. High jumpers regularly compete until their early 30s, meaning that (all going to plan), we’ll have at least a decade of Mahuchikh’s brilliance to come.

43. Millie Bright

Footballer Millie Bright’s career extends far beyond the pitch. The former Chelsea captain, who announced her retirement in April, had such an impact on the club and its fans that she’ll stay on as a foundation trustee and club ambassador, working closely with them to inspire the next generation. Which shouldn’t be a surprise: “It’s what I play for—to inspire young girls and boys,” she told Marie Claire UK back in 2023.

Bright’s influence on the world of women’s sports shows no signs of slowing down. An ambassador for mental health charity YoungMinds, successful podcaster and regular pundit and presenter—not to mention a new YouTube channel—Bright also recently launched The Growth Locker, an online platform is aimed at helping female entrepreneurs establish small businesses.

Stay tuned, because we’ve got a feeling there’s a lot more to come.

44. Aryna Sabalenka

Four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka is known as The Tiger for her fierce energy on and off the court.

A formidable star, who this year took the so-called Sunshine Double after back-to-back wins at the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open tournaments, she’s also a vocal proponent of player rights and fair pay. At the French Open this year, she spoke openly about the need for players to receive a greater share of tournament revenue, and for tournaments to make contributions to pensions, healthcare and maternity pots.

Her influence extends beyond the court. In January 2026, she was unveiled as Gucci’s latest global brand ambassador; a move that demonstrated both her individual influence and marked another step towards closing the sponsorship gap between the men’s and women’s game.

45. Rebeca Andrade

Rebeca Andrade is back. Brazil’s most decorated Olympian, who has a total of six medals to her name (alongside the nine won at World Championship level), made her return to competition in June with a win on the vault at the Pan American Gymnastics Championships.

Andrade’s road to the top has been far from smooth. Three ACL tears in 2015, 2017 and 2019, respectively, have made her one of the most resilient and self-aware athletes in the game. It’s how she knew that she needed to prioritise rest and recovery when she made the brave (and almost unheard of) decision to take an extended break from the sport in 2025. “I’m resting. It’s very important to me,” she told Globo at the time.

Her decisiveness is something we can all learn from. Since returning to the sport, she’s made a decision to step back from the floor to focus on the vault, beam and uneven bars instead, to respect, what she has called the “limits of my body”. Either way, with LA 2028 on the horizon, it’s an exciting time—with that focus and direction the sky, surely, is the limit.

46. Amy Hunt

“You can be an academic badass and a track goddess.” So said Amy Hunt in the line that sent her viral last year. Speaking to the BBC after winning silver at the world championships in Tokyo, the Cambridge University English Graduate’s words resonated with young female athletes all over the country.

The messages flooded in, all asking for advice on how to get into Oxbridge. “I’ll always say, just give me a call, because the interview is so unlike anything else you’ll ever do,” Hunt told The Guardian earlier this year. Her eventual goal is to set up a scholarship to support track and field athletes to get into Cambridge.

For now, however, she has pressing matters on the track. And things are going well. Hunt has already set a new personal best of 10.97 seconds over the 100m this year, becoming the third fastest British woman of all time. At the UK Athletics Championships, she defeated fellow sprint icon Dina Asher-Smith to take the crown, going on to score two silver medals—in 100m and 200m—at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.

47. Mary Earps

Think of Mary Earps and you can’t help but think of the summer of 2023. Just a year after played a pivotal role in the team’s victory at Euro 2022, that was the year she vice-captained the Lionesses to the final of the Women’s World Cup—uniting a nation behind women’s football and earning her the crown of Sports Personality of the Year.

Over those two summers, women’s football in the UK was transformed—all thanks to Earps and her team. As spectator numbers soared, the team became idols for young girls all over the country. It hadn’t always been that way, she told Marie Claire UK that summer: “I’ve spent quite a lot of my career being heavily criticised. But winning at the Euros, and the way I played, people look at me differently now.”

They certainly do. Now retired from the international game, she’s just signed for Women’s Super League team London City Lionesses—a move that brings her back to British soil after two years at Paris Saint-Germain. When asked what drew her back, Earps cited the energy of the club and its female owner, Michele Kang. “I think there’s a lot of broken promises made in women’s sports. It’s not always sunshine and rainbows,” she told The Guardian in January. But their vision and the way they’re actively working towards it—it’s not just words, it feels very much like action.”

Welcome home, Mary. It’s great to have you back.

48. Lottie Fry

At 26, Lottie Fry became the youngest dressage rider in history to win the individual freestyle title at the World Dressage Championships—taking home a second gold in the individual special class and a silver in the team dressage.

Her partner in crime, a black stallion called Glamourdale, has been described by Lottie as her “one in a million”. The pair were also part of a record-breaking Olympics for the British equestrian squad at Paris 2024, where they took individual and team dressage bronze.

And though her accolades are many, Lottie’s ride to victory has not been without it’s challenges. Her mother—Laura Fry, also a British Olympic dressage rider—died in 2012, when Lottie was just 16. Not long after, in 2014, the young rider moved to the Netherlands to continue her training. It’s where she met Glamourdale, and where she continues to train today.

There is undoubtedly a long and illustrious career ahead for them both—and we can’t wait to see it play out.

49. Nat Sciver-Brunt

Nat Sciver-Brunt is only the second Englishwoman to juggle motherhood and professional cricket. The first was Arran Brindle, who returned to international cricket in 2011 after giving birth to her son in 2008. Now Sciver-Brunt and her wife, Katherine (a former England fast-bowler), are carving their own path through family life and elite sport. “We are the guinea-pigs,” Sciver-Brunt joked in an interview with The Telegraph last year.

But Sciver-Brunt isn’t just part of the England squad who finished as runners-up to Australia in this year’s T20 World Cup. She’s captain—a role that has been 13 years in the making. Having made her international debut for England in 2013 when she was just 20, the 33-year-old is proof that you don’t need to be the loudest on the pitch to be an effective leader.

“We all know she’s not the most vocal person, and you don’t need to be,” head coach Charlotte Edwards told the England & Wales Cricket Board last month. “Your actions lead on the pitch, and that’s what she [Nat] does. She leads from the front. Juggling it with everything else—looking after young Theo—she’s kind of a superwoman in many ways.” Hear, hear.

50. Desirèe Henry

Sprinter Desirèe Henry is on her road to her third Olympics. The 200m former World Youth Champion and multiple Olympic relay medallist is documenting the journey via her YouTube and Instagram channels (both with regular cameos from her dachshund, Henry).

As well as winning medals, Henry (the person, not the puppy) has another mission—as she revealed to Marie Claire UK back in June. “I’m passionate about empowering women to build strength, confidence and a positive relationship with their bodies,” she said. “Strength is sexy, sophisticated, and most of all, feminine.”

It hasn’t always felt that way, she added: “But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realised my body tells a story. It reflects discipline, resilience, consistency, and years of hard work. That’s something I’m proud of, rather than something I feel I need to downplay.”

The messages she shares, in interviews and on social media, all reflect this celebration of female strength, making her a much-needed voice for all of us.

From the jubilant Arsenal parade to the verdant scenes at Wimbledon to the rallying cry of “it’s coming home” that echoed around every corner of the UK, it really is the summer of sport. The summer of sweat and power and persistence – and, lest we forget, fashion.

Hang on, you may be thinking. Fashion? Of course, for the uninitiated, the sporting arena may not seem like the most obvious terrain for couture. All of that snarling and grunting and grime! Think of the tulle!! But sport and fashion have always been strange bedfellows.

After all, Chanel has its origins in tennis dresses. In 2012, Vivienne Westwood drew from London’s hosting gig and served up a Spring Menswear collection inspired by the Olympic Games. Dior’s Resort 2021 collection presented modern athleisure silhouettes. And, of course, the likes of the Williams sisters have been pushing the boundaries of sportswear for years, with everything from a fierce tennis catsuit to a delicate tutu and embellished nails.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

However, the trend is, without a doubt, on the rise—and morphing into something bigger and bolder than before. This summer, more than ever, these seemingly disparate worlds collided at full pelt as athletes and fans alike embraced the strength and power of a good sartorial moment, opting for fashion that is more elevated, more intentional, more avant-garde—more, if you’ll excuse the pun, ballsy than ever. It is, in other words, the summer when sport met method dressing.

In case you’ve somehow missed every A-lister press tour over the past few years, method dressing is all about reimagining the red carpet gown as a larger-than-life costume by making intentional sartorial nods to the project at hand. See, for instance, Margot Robbie recreating iconic Barbie looks for the 2022 Greta Gerwig film or Zendaya draped in goddess-worthy garments for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film.

In sport, we’re now seeing a similar trend. American tennis star Naomi Osaka, for instance, transformed the grass and clay courts into red carpets with her headline-grabbing couture walk-on moments: a gilded, sequinned tennis dress with a cascading tulle train by Germanier at the French Open, followed by a draped, custom-couture white embroidered kimono by Tokyo designer Hana Yagi at Wimbledon.

"She’s not simply participating in fashion; she’s using it as a tool to express different facets of herself – her heritage, her creativity, her emotions, and the many identities she holds beyond the court," explains Osaka's stylist Marty Harper. "That’s what makes her style resonate so powerfully: it feels authentic, but it also expands the way we think about athletes and who they’re allowed to be."

This is new territory. "Naomi brought fashion into a space where traditionally athletes have been expected to minimise self-expression and focus solely on performance. By bringing that level of intention and creativity onto the court, she challenged the idea that athletic excellence and personal style exist separately," he continues. "The kimono moment was especially powerful because it wasn’t just visually striking – it carried meaning. It connected culture, identity, history, and performance in a way that felt deeply considered. It transformed a uniform into a statement."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk put a dainty spin on the classic tennis dress in the balletic white lace Wilson dress in a nod to the iconic lace dress worn by Chris Evert during the 1971 US Open.

In the football world, players have made their own fashion statements on and off the pitch with “tunnel ‘fits” becoming the footie version of a tennis walk-on. At the World Cup 2026 just last month, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s team swiftly went viral when they arrived in Houston wearing matching leopard print suits by Congo-born, Paris-based designer Alvin Mak. Last year, at the 2025 Euros, Denmark’s ladies arrived in oversized embroidered Rotate Birger Christensen two-pieces, while Poland’s team rocked three-piece red tailored suits by Lancerto.

And although couture moments actually on the football pitch aren’t yet as common as they are in the tennis world, Arsenal and England player Declan Rice quite literally turned his pitch into a red carpet, when he walked in Labrum’s London Fashion Week Show at the Emirates Stadium.

In addition to all of these viral IRL fashion moments, there are the endless collaborations. Ralph Lauren and Wimbledon. Gap, Aerie, American Eagle have all got their piece of the World Cup cake. Loewe recently announced a four-year partnership with Spain’s national teams, while Jacquemus has collaborated with France’s team. Indeed, cast your eyes up towards any billboard, and you’ll likely find your favourite footballer fronting a designer campaign.

According to Harper, this is just the beginning. "Right now, many of the most memorable fashion moments happen around arrival, entrances, or major events – those 'before the game' moments. But there is an opportunity to expand that storytelling ecosystem much further," he says. "The future is about creating a more complete visual narrative around an athlete: how they dress for competition, how they celebrate, how they travel, how they train, how they engage with fans, and how those moments collectively build their legacy."

On one hand, the growing alliance between sport and fashion feels like a logical capitalist inevitability. It's no surprise that, with all eyes on Wimbledon and the World Cup this summer, fashion houses and athletes alike were cashing in on the moment with theatrical, viral-worthy sartorial displays. Then again, perhaps there's another explanation.

As Zendaya explained during a BBC One Show interview, her relationship with method dressing helps her step into character. "Fashion is something I've always used as an outlet, a tool,” she said. “Ultimately, I think I am a more shy person so it allows for me to create this persona, this character that I get to live in for the day.” And after all, are the pressures and demands of a sporting arena really all that different from those of a red carpet? Perhaps turning to high fashion, athletes are able to craft their own costumes that help them to get into character – to get ready to perform. Stepping into a moment so grandiose demands an outfit worthy of the occasion. And draping oneself in a costume can have a real psychological impact.

“An athlete is no different [to an actor],” says Jennifer Michalski-Bray, celebrity stylist. “Tapping into their alter-ego before a competition helps create a powerful, confident mindset to match.”

Osaka herself has explained how embodying a character helps her perform. “For me, my Japanese heritage means a lot. They say all white at Wimbledon and I thought it would be really cool to come out in a kimono,” Osaka said in an on-court interview of her latest look, adding that she took inspiration from Kill Bill. "So I really love Lucy Liu’s character, O-Ren Ishii, and she comes out in this really iconic white kimono. I always tell people I like to be like a video game character sometimes, I don’t want to be myself when I’m playing on the court. And I kind of try to embody her a little.”

So, while some traditional sports fans may bristle at Osaka’s layers of tulle or Bellingham’s crisp cashmere, fashion may just be another piece in the mysterious puzzle of sports psychology. And just as method dressing on the red carpet gets fans excited about a film, these moments in sport can also draw in new fans.

"Audiences are craving a deeper connection," Harper says. "They don’t just want the statistics or the highlight reel; they want to understand the person behind the performance. Fashion is one of the most immediate and powerful forms of storytelling. In a single image, an athlete can communicate their values, their creativity, their heritage, or their mindset."

Adds Michalski-Bray, “I love seeing athletes express themselves through fashion because it brings an entirely new audience. People who might normally only watch because their sport-obsessed partner has the game on suddenly have another reason to tune in.”

It’s true – just as the method dressing trend in the entertainment world has seeped into fan culture in cinemas, sports fans are similarly rising to the sartorial occasion this summer. Where once pubs and watch parties were filled with uniform team jerseys, increasingly, you’re more likely to be greeted with a sea of carefully curated, intentional fan looks, filled with personality and self-expression.

Wimbledon has always been a fashion-forward sporting event, with guests playfully adhering to the all-white dress code. But other sporting events are catching up, too. For the World Cup, fans are not only sporting their team’s jerseys but also making their own playful nods to iconic fashion moments in the sport’s history. Chances are, you’ve already seen plenty of Victoria Beckham-inspired England looks at your local pub. I can also attest that this summer’s Arsenal parade was, thanks to a lot of sartorial creativity, a jubilant celebration not only of the team but also of the fan base’s diversity and personality. Celebrities are also getting in on the action. Take Taylor Swift’s viral DIY Knicks pun T-shirts, or New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, in her Knicks T-shirt dress by 2026 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Miss Claire Sullivan.

As Felicia Pennant, founder of football and fashion zine Season, explains, fans have always used fashion as a means of expressing their allegiance to a team, but in the past few years, it's become more visible (and more trendy) than ever. "From a football perspective, we've been seeing this trend for the past few summers with people being really unapologetically expressing their fandom or really embracing this so-called blokecore aesthetic. It's more visible," she says. "I just think more people have tapped into the zeitgeist. And there's way more merch, which means there are more options. We've diversified fanwear and merch so everyone has a choice. And obviously it's not just male-centric. Women have women designers and feel empowered to express femininity and creativity and different narratives in their designs."

Is this another brand of fan method dressing? "It's an expression of interest in fandom, so it's motivated by the same things," she says. But, when it comes to fan dressing, there's one key difference. "I don't think that being a fan is a different character – it's just who you are," she says.

This summer, sport has become more widely celebrated, more inclusive than ever. Amongst all of the bubbling sporting excitement, it does, of course, make a lot of business sense that fashion houses would be chomping at the bit to collaborate with the biggest sporting stars. But there’s a more positive side to the rise of sporting method dressing, too. High fashion is having a theatrical moment under the headlights of the sporting world – and this new brazen and bold love affair shows that sport really is more fun when it’s for everyone.

Not so long ago, Formula 1 occupied a fairly predictable corner of British culture. It belonged to petrolheads and dads trying to explain tyre strategy over a Sunday roast. There’s no denying the glamour existed, but mostly further afield. Monaco had its superyachts, and Ferrari was worshipped like a religion in Italy. But the average British Grand Prix? It was less fashion week and more camping chic.

Today, Silverstone has become one of the best-dressed events. You wouldn’t think you’re walking through the gates at a motorsport track—rather, stepped into a well-dressed festival. As I weaved through the queuing crowd, I studied the OOTD’s. As far as the eye could see, I saw fans dressed in vintage leather racing jackets and papaya McLaren cropped tees paired with capri leggings. Someone in a butter-yellow linen co-ord balanced an iced latte in one hand while fumbling for her ticket, while another fan adjusted the brim of his Mercedes cap.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

I heard fans discussing how amazing Chase & Status’ set was on the main stage on Saturday night. People weren't just there for motorsport, but a full weekend line-up of music, including David Guetta and Anne-Marie (I guess you could argue it was a festival of sorts).

But Formula 1 hasn't just become more popular—it’s become aspirational. Like Wimbledon, Glastonbury and Royal Ascot, the British Grand Prix is now as much about who's attending and what they’re wearing as it is about the world-class racing. Somewhere along the way, it's quietly earned its place on Britain's summer social calendar.

How F1 Became More Than a Race

Despite what it may say on your ticket, the event doesn’t begin on the Friday morning of race weekend. In fact, it doesn’t even begin at Silverstone at all. In the days leading up to the British GP, F1 spills into London's luxury hotels, flagship stores and rooftop bars. Tommy Hilfiger celebrated its Cadillac F1 partnership last Wednesday with driver Valtteri Bottas, who joked that if he could raid anyone's wardrobe, it would be his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton's, “Not only for the style, but because of the value of his wardrobe!”

Watchmaker TAG Heuer also hosted an intimate evening with Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar and F1 Academy driver Megan Bruce. The racing may happen at Silverstone, but the social calendar starts long before the lights go out.

But Formula 1 hasn’t abandoned its traditions. The paddock remains the most coveted place to be on a race weekend, and when I found myself swiping through the turnstiles for the first time, I had to pinch myself. Hundreds of fans lined the entrances hoping for a glimpse of their favourite drivers, while inside, the teams’ motorhomes became base camp for the weekend. I found myself doing another form of people-watching.

Outside Ferrari, people gathered hoping to catch sight of Lewis Hamilton, or in my case, wondering whether Kim Kardashian might make an appearance. Instead, I found myself walking past Queen guitarist Brian May, then moments later crossing paths with Love Island stars Grace Jackson and Luca Bish. Two very different worlds colliding in one paddock, but perhaps an example of what Formula 1 looks like now.

A Bigger Crowd, the Same Obsession

The most striking detail is that the old and new worlds don't feel at odds with one another, and that extends beyond the paddock. This year, 564,000 people visited the British GP across the weekend, making it Formula 1's highest-ever race attendance. I watched on as lifelong fans listened to the Radio Silverstone commentary, sat alongside people who were first-time visitors and discovered the sport through TikTok. Some groups came for the racing, others for the atmosphere. But by lights out, they were all cheering for the same thing.

It's that growing audience that's transformed what a race weekend looks like. Beyond the grandstands, Silverstone has become a mini city of luxury hospitality lounges, brand activations, and beautifully designed spaces that rival those of some of the chicest hotels. The circuit is so vast that there’s even a dedicated hospitality shuttle bus service, ferrying guests between countless trackside lounges scattered across the historic track.

One of the latest additions has been The Pop Up Hotel, where I spent Saturday’s Sprint Race and Qualifying. Best known for creating one of Glastonbury's most sought-after luxury camping experiences, founder Mark Sorrill brought the concept to the British Grand Prix, a sign that the race has evolved into a summer holiday destination in its own right.

"Fifty per cent of our guests are female," he tells Marie Clare UK. "The audience has broadened enormously, even in the space of a year. We've got a crowd who may have discovered the sport through Netflix’s Drive to Survive and its lifestyle appeal, alongside people who've followed Formula 1 for decades because of family, heritage and a love of racing. Everyone's there for F1, that's quite magical."

While at the hotel, what struck me wasn't the Dyson Airwrap station on offer to freshen up your hair, or even the on-site spa, where massages are accompanied by the unmistakable soundtrack of V6 hybrid engines roaring around the circuit. It was the track-side swimming pool, because where else could you watch Formula 1 while floating beside Hangar Straight?

Where Horsepower Meets High Fashion

It's true that Netflix's Drive to Survive has helped Formula 1's cultural transformation. The show did for the sport what The Crown did for the monarchy, translating something familiar into drama. Some viewers probably didn’t initially watch it to analyse team strategy; they were there to get an insight into friendships, rivalries and personalities unfolding behind the scenes. I was one of those fans. For me, it was former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo's cheeky personality in the first season that drew me in. Results became almost secondary, and I found myself supporting him through each race that didn’t go his way and every team change, from Renault to McLaren. To this day, there's still old Ricciardo merchandise stuffed in my wardrobe that I can't quite bring myself to throw away.

As Formula 1 found a new audience, its stars found a new role. The paddock became as much a showcase for personal style as it did driving talent. Someone who’s long understood that concept is Lewis Hamilton. For over a decade, he’s arrived at circuits in carefully curated looks that blurred the line between athlete and fashion editor. Throughout those years, Hamilton's style choices attracted criticism from traditionalists who questioned whether fashion had a place in F1 at all. That conversation feels almost unrecognisable now. He’s not only a seven-time world champion, but one of the most influential figures in sport and culture, co-chairing the iconic Met Gala and using one of fashion's biggest stages to champion Black designers. In many ways, Formula 1 didn't teach Hamilton to embrace fashion; the sport simply caught up with him.

The next generation has followed suit. Today's drivers understand that the paddock begins the moment they step out of the car, with arrivals planned almost as carefully as qualifying laps. Fashion has become another form of storytelling, one that travels from the circuit to luxury campaigns, magazine editorials and front-row seats at Fashion Week. Even teams are embracing the shift, with Gucci's recently announced collaboration with Alpine F1 signalling just how closely the worlds of motorsport and luxury have become intertwined.

But it’s not limited to designer brands. While asking fans and celebrities alike who they were wearing to the race weekend, there was only one response to my question. Marks & Spencer. This year, they became an official partner of the British GP, hosting the first-ever fashion catwalk at Silverstone. It was a symbolic moment: style was no longer something happening around Formula 1; it had become part of the spectacle itself.

Sharry Cramond, Marketing Director for Fashion, Home & Beauty at M&S, says it was a bold step for the brand. "It's a great example of how we’re showing up in new, unexpected ways at the UK’s biggest moments and delivering something that no one has done before. Silverstone is where sport, music and culture come together."

A Celebration of a Growing Community

The shift can also be visible in the rise of F1 Academy, the all-female racing series which gives a new generation of drivers a platform to compete and redefine what the paddock looks like. This year marked their first appearance at Silverstone, and while standing on the starting grid, I felt a glimpse of where the sport is heading. Alongside the racing, there was a fresh approach to how these athletes are presented, with partnerships from brands including Sephora, Wella and Puma reflecting a sport increasingly interested in beauty, fashion and lifestyle, as much as lap times.

Wella's immersive pop-up had fans testing their driving reactions, Minnie Mouse was encouraging spectators to get their Disney driving licence, and messages of support for the teams could be left by fans, displayed on a piece of artwork shaped like a Formula 1 car. The set-up felt less like a sponsor installation and more like a celebration of a growing community. Watching the response around the series, it was clear this was no longer a niche corner of motorsport. The paddock told a different story, one where young women aren't just watching from the sidelines; they're competing and becoming the faces of the sport's future.

Yet Style Was There All Along

The thing is, style has never been absent in F1; it just simply wasn't always recognised as 'style'. Britain’s become uniquely positioned to embrace this evolution. Being home to the majority of F1 teams, the country's motorsport heritage gives the glamour something that newer races arguably lack: a sense of authenticity. At Silverstone, luxury isn't a performance layered on for social media; it sits on top of decades of sporting history.

And that’s why the British Grand Prix has become such a compelling place to be. Unlike Wimbledon, it’s not all about strawberries and punch. Unlike Royal Ascot, there are no strict dress-code expectations. Formula 1 exists somewhere in between, a rare space where tailoring meets trainers, vintage watches meet streetwear, and quiet luxury sits comfortably alongside a team cap and designer sunglasses. Perhaps that's the secret of the British Grand Prix's new allure. It’s never asked people to dress for the occasion. It has simply given them one worth dressing for.

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At least once a year, my dad likes to jokingly remind me that, had I not had a meltdown on a tennis court in a Tenerife resort at age three, I might’ve made it big as a child model.

Instead, as a patient photographer tried to capture a shot of little me poised to hit a perfect forehand, I yelled, “BUT I CAN’T PLAY TENNIS”, between fat sobs.

Gentle clarification that I didn’t actually have to play tennis to feature in what was probably a promotional magazine for the hotel apparently failed—as too did offering me an ice cream for my efforts. I didn’t know how to write my name or tie my shoelaces yet, but I had already acquired an aversion to sports that I’d inadvertently nurture for decades to come.

At school, I feigned illness and injury to evade PE lessons—classes I couldn’t wrangle my way out of triggered all-consuming anxiety. And, regrettably, I stopped watching and enjoying football with my Dad. The overarching feeling was that my sports skills and knowledge were both so lacking that it simply wasn’t for me—and I know that many other millennial women had a similar experience.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

Fanbases Are Flourishing

Thankfully, the landscape of women’s sport looks a lot different today. Games are more frequently broadcast on television. Female athletes are more visible and influential than ever before. And viewership is soaring. The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final drew a record-breaking 82,000 spectators, making it the most attended women’s rugby game in history. In football, several WSL teams now play all of their home games at their respective club stadiums, including Arsenal, who have an average attendance of 35,000 at Emirates Stadium.

Research commissioned by the BBC earlier this year confirmed that the fanbase is flourishing. 24 million people in the UK now identify as women’s sports fans, up from 18 million in 2021—an increase of 33% in five years. Just last month, a report by Nielsen Sports revealed that women’s football is on track to become one of the world’s top five sports by 2030.

Women’s sport has never been more accessible, for athletes and fans alike. And yet, we’re haemorrhaging young talent because fewer girls are dreaming of becoming professional athletes than ever before.

Falling "Dream Rates" Juxtapose Rising Viewing Figures

That’s according to research by the charity Women in Sport, which revealed that the number of girls aspiring to reach the top in sport has nosedived from 38% to 23% since the 2024 Olympics. Meanwhile, boys’ dream rates are stable at 53%. This means that there is a 30% gap in the number of boys and girls with athletic aspirations – the highest it has ever been—which Women in Sport have called the "Gender Dream Deficit."

The research shines a light on how much girls feel that they belong in sport in 2026. It also reveals the underlying reasons that girls are dreaming less. “In this year’s research, the girls we spoke to expressed a stronger demand than ever for more local opportunities, more single-sex spaces, greater diversity and choice of sport, and better representation—not just in the media, but on the pitch and the sidelines,” says Women in Sport policy manager Rachel Williams.

While rising visibility has undoubtedly inspired some, it has also highlighted the adversity that still comes with being a female athlete. “It casts light on just how hard it is for girls to reach the top of sport and the obstacles female athletes must navigate once they are there, from underfunding and lower pay to the lack of professional pathways and support,” says Williams.

Girls’ falling dream rates demonstrate that, while advancements in women’s sport are worth celebrating, there’s still work to be done. “Visibility on its own is not, and will never be, enough to get more girls into sport,” Williams says.

So how do we address the Gender Dream Deficit? Frustratingly, many of the changes needed fall outside of the scope of what’s possible for the individual, according to Williams. “There are systemic changes that need to happen to create more opportunities for girls, fund them properly and, ultimately, tackle the societal stereotypes that tell women and girls that sport is not for them.”

Perhaps, were these barriers dismantled 30-odd years ago, I might’ve been confident – or at least curious – enough to participate in sports much sooner. Instead, in a turn of events that feels very full circle, I completed my first tennis lesson just last week—sans sobbing.

If it all feels a bit hopeless, Williams stresses that we mustn’t underestimate the impact that parents can have on their children's aspirations. “Our research has consistently shown that girls from sporty families are more likely to love sport themselves, and parental support and encouragement are some of the key things that support girls to be active,” Williams says. “Many girls (48%) say their mum is one of the key role models that encourages them to be active.”

It might seem like a big responsibility to shoulder, but child psychologists assure that the simplest strategies are often the best. Below, they share their best advice for encouraging your children to build a healthy relationship with sport.

1. Make Women’s Sport More Visible in Your Home

“One of the most powerful things parents can do is make women's sport visible,” says registered psychologist Dr Carolyne Keenan. This could involve watching games together on the television, attending local matches where possible and actively celebrating female athletes.

“Social learning theory suggests that seeing women compete and succeed at the highest level helps girls believe that sport is something they can do too,” explains sports psychologist Lucy Ballinger. “Additionally, when parents take the time to sit and watch women’s sport with their child, it sends a message that they value women’s sport.”

2. Encourage Your Child to Try Lots of Different Sports

Sometimes, the issue isn't a lack of ability or interest, according to Keenan; it's simply that a child hasn't yet found the environment within sport where they feel they belong. “The more opportunities girls have to explore movement, competition and teamwork in different ways, the more likely they are to find something that feels like a good fit,” she says.

Unsure how to initiate the conversation without applying too much pressure? Ballinger advises encouraging exploration over commitment by saying something like: ‘Let’s give it a go and see what you think’. “This lets your child know that their enjoyment is important and that they don’t have to continue if they don’t enjoy it or if it is not the right fit.”

3. Focus on Enjoyment and Effort, Rather Than Performance or Results

“Enjoyment is one of the biggest factors in whether girls continue participating in sport,” says Ballinger.

When performance outcomes are prioritised over enjoyment or effort, children can begin to feel under pressure, Ballinger warns. “They may experience anxiety and low confidence, increasing the risk of them dropping out of sport,” she says. “But when the emphasis is on having fun, developing friendships and learning, children can develop a genuine love of sport that encourages lifelong participation.”

A post-sport debrief usually presents a good opportunity to shift the focus away from performance outcomes. Instead of asking ‘did you win?’ or giving unsolicited technical feedback as a conversation opener, Ballinger suggests asking questions such as: ‘did you have fun?’, ‘what did you enjoy?’, ‘What did you learn?’

4. Let Your Children See You Being Active

“Children learn through observations, so when they see their parents are active themselves, this sends the message that being active is a normal, enjoyable part of life,” says Ballinger.

She recommends:

• Letting your child see you enjoying exercise, rather than treating it as punishment.
• Scheduling activities to do as a family, such as going for a walk or swimming.
• Talking about what you get out of engaging in physical activity and how it makes you feel – stronger, more energetic, less stressed, and so on – rather than focusing on appearance.
• Showing them that there are different ways to be active.

5. Challenge Gender Stereotypes

Don’t let gender stereotypes go unchecked when they arise.

“If a child says, 'boys are better at football' or 'girls aren't as sporty,' parents can respond with curiosity and conversation rather than criticism,” says Keenan. “Asking questions such as 'what makes you think that?' or sharing examples that challenge those assumptions can help children think more critically about the messages they are absorbing.”

Bottom line? This isn’t just about sports, Keenan says. “It's about helping girls develop the belief that they are allowed to take up space, pursue ambitious goals and participate fully in areas that have not always felt designed with them in mind. That's a lesson that extends far beyond the playing field.”

Imagine spending years preparing for the biggest competition of your life. Every early morning, every training session and every sacrifice leading towards one moment. Then, six weeks before you step onto the start line, your body becomes an opponent you never trained for.

That was the reality of Paralympic champion Charlotte Henshaw in the build-up to the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

A sudden change to her endometriosis medication threw her hormones into turmoil just weeks before the Games. She bled almost constantly for four weeks. Every day became a balancing act between managing debilitating symptoms and preparing for the race she had spent years chasing. Yet almost nobody knew.

"I was in that state of flux, trying different hormone treatments in the last six weeks leading up to the Games. My hormones were completely out of whack. I was pretty much bleeding constantly for four weeks," she says. "Nobody knew what I was having to endure every day. I tried to just get on with it as best I could."

Henshaw went on to make history, becoming the first-ever paracanoe athlete to win double gold at a single Paralympic Games. But behind those medals is a story shared by thousands of women in sport: the invisible effort of competing while managing a condition that many people still misunderstand.

Despite endometriosis affecting an estimated 190 million women worldwide (1 in 10), diagnosis remains painfully slow. In the UK, women wait an average of nine years and four months for a diagnosis, while 82% say they have had their symptoms dismissed. For elite athletes, those years of uncertainty can become another opponent—one that refuses to play fair.

But this story extends far beyond the podium. According to Endometriosis UK, 62% of women have missed out on sport or exercise because of period pain. Behind that statistic are countless moments that rarely make headlines: a girl sitting in a school changing room, hoping that the cramps will pass before PE begins. A teenager quietly dropping out of a club because she cannot explain why she keeps feeling unwell. A talented young athlete begins to believe she lacks discipline when actually she has been trying to compete with a condition no one has the language to recognise.

If elite athletes can spend years learning to push through symptoms they cannot explain, what hope do the next generation of women in sport have of recognising the signs?

For decades, women’s health was the conversation elite sport wasn’t having. Periods, hormones and chronic pain were pushed to the sidelines, quietly endured rather than openly discussed. Luckily, that's finally changing. From Leah Williamson and Bethany England to Elinor Barker and Charlotte Henshaw, more sportswomen are speaking openly about endometriosis and challenging the idea that resilience means suffering in silence.

Their stories arrive at a defining moment for women’s sport. As female athletes step into the spotlight like never before, the curtain is finally lifting on what elite performance really demands, and what it can cost.

For Henshaw, it meant arriving at the biggest competition of her life without knowing what her body would allow. For marathoner Lillie Bleasdale, it meant starting training sessions wondering whether she would be able to finish them. For content creator and Pilates instructor Stef Williams, it meant reaching a point where pushing through was no longer proof of strength. And for Barker, it meant discovering just how powerful she could feel when the pain was no longer standing in her way.

Their stories are different. And so are their sports. But the battle is remarkably similar. These are the stories of what happens when elite athletes stop hiding the battles they have been fighting all along—and what we can all learn from them.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

What Training Looks Like When Your Body Won't Cooperate

Elite sport is built on a simple promise: if you put in the work, your body will meet you halfway. Endometriosis breaks that promise. No matter how carefully you train or recover, years of preparation can be undone by a body you cannot predict. The body you’ve spent years relying on can begin to feel like an unreliable teammate.

There is one common thread that links each of these women’s experiences together: every training session begins with the same question. Will my body let me do this today?

For Lillie Bleasdale, the hardest part wasn’t her training. It was never knowing whether her body would allow her to complete it. "I spent a lot of time getting frustrated with not seeing improvement in my running, or not being able to understand why I was so fatigued even though I felt I was doing everything correctly," she says. "On paper, my training week doesn't really change, but the reality is fairly different."

During a flare-up, Bleasdale describes every mile feeling just that little bit heavier than it should. But it isn’t just the pain that follows her onto the pavements. It’s the exhaustion, bloating and the all-encompassing feeling of being unwell.

Some weeks she’d tick off every run. Others, lacing her trainers, felt like a victory. The training plan didn’t disappear. It just became written in pencil instead of ink, rewritten according to whatever her body decided that day. "Even if I complete the sessions, I'm often just trying to get through them, rather than getting the quality out of them."

Professor Mark Gillett, Chief Medical Officer at the Professional Footballers' Association, says Bleasdale's story is one he sees time and again. “Athletes can spend months, or even years, being investigated for musculoskeletal injuries or gastrointestinal conditions before anyone considers endometriosis.”

By then, the consequences reach far beyond missed training sessions. “Pain disrupts training and recovery, so key training sessions can be compromised or cancelled," he explains. "I’ve seen embarrassment or pride often lead to a delay in disclosing symptoms, which can be highly debilitating." He adds that persistent abdominal pain can also affect core stability, increasing the risk of back problems in athletes already placing extraordinary demands on their bodies: “Ultimately, understanding an athlete's symptoms and recognising the patterns behind them is just as important as the training plan itself.”

Scroll through Williams' social media feeds, and you’d probably think she was a woman who’d cracked it. A picture of consistency, discipline and resilience. That was the version of herself she allowed the world to see. But behind the carefully planned sessions and polished posts was a reality far harder to see: a body she no longer understood. She’d never heard of endometriosis before being diagnosed. Instead, when her body no longer responded to training as she’d always known it to, she blamed herself.

Then, during a routine workout her husband was helping her film, everything unravelled. Halfway through a plank, she hit a wall: “I could feel my body reaching a limit I just couldn’t push past. I just remember collapsing and crying—I was trying to get through enough reps to be able to upload the video."

It was a moment that stayed with her, not because she couldn’t finish a workout, but because she realised this was no longer something she could simply overcome through willpower.

Bleasdale thought she wasn't training hard enough. Williams thought she wasn't doing enough. Neither realised their bodies had been trying to tell them the same thing all along.

The Hidden Mental Load of Competing With Endometriosis

Pain makes up only half of this story. The other half happens inside your head. Maybe I’m imagining it. Maybe I should try harder. Maybe I’m making a fuss.

For these athletes, whose identities are often built around discipline, resilience and pushing beyond their limits, those doubts can become almost as debilitating as the condition itself.

"When your body is your job and your livelihood—and it relies on you feeling at your best at any given moment—it's really, really difficult to get your head around. Some days, my body just didn't want to do what I wanted it to, and I didn't have a reason for that," says Henshaw.

For Olympic cyclist Elinor Barker, the mental burden became inseparable from the physical one. During long periods of abdominal pain and relentless fatigue, she found herself expending as much energy hiding her symptoms as managing them: "The fatigue got worse the longer the pain lasted: I was making such a huge effort to hide the pain I was in from my coaches and teammates," she says. "On the worst days, it affected my ability to do basic things around training, like cooking and eating enough."

For Williams, that pressure didn’t just come from sport. It came from millions of followers expecting the strongest version of her every day. As she struggled, she found herself worrying she wasn’t doing enough. "It felt like a constant battle," she says. "With the constant thought in my head being ‘there’s got to be something wrong with you’. And then there's shame around it. It's quite a heavy emotion to feel."

Online, the pressure was even harder to escape. As her symptoms caused her body to fluctuate, followers criticised her training. "I would get thousands of hate comments like, 'You're not lifting heavy enough,'" she recalls. What they couldn’t see was that strength no longer looked like adding more weight to the bar. It looked like learning what her body could carry that day and having the courage to honour it.

Health psychologist Dr Sula Windgassen says this self-doubt is no coincidence. "Elite athletes can become trapped because the very qualities that make them successful, pushing through pain, suppressing discomfort and prioritising performance, are reinforced by a culture that often dismisses women's symptoms," she explains. "Over time, this erodes trust in their own body, making it harder to recognise when something is wrong and seek help."

When Elite Athletes Speak Out, Everyone Listens

When elite athletes speak openly about this condition, and many others for that matter, they don’t just tell their own story—their vulnerability becomes a catalyst for others to seek answers.

​To Barker, simply being able to name what she was experiencing was transformative: “The first I'd heard of endometriosis was my diagnosis,” she says. “Since then, it seems that awareness and knowledge have improved massively. I'll gladly speak to anybody about it and don't hide anything from my teammates or coaches anymore. It's a tough thing to have to deal with, but I believe a big part of that is down to being able to talk openly about it with those around me.”

Every athlete who chooses to speak out chips away at the silence surrounding endometriosis. As Windgassen notes, “Visibility of the disease is paramount to raise awareness and reduce stigma. Those with public profiles, who are admired and respected, can change the course for others who are experiencing self-doubt, shame and isolation with their symptoms.”

In lighter news, shifts are beginning to happen. Endometriosis UK found that 63% of people have now heard of the condition, up from 38% of 18-24-year-olds in 2020. But awareness is only the first step. For far too many women, recognition still isn’t followed by timely diagnosis or specialist care. The challenge now is turning powerful personal stories like these into lasting systemic change.

This is why every story matters. Every athlete who speaks out gives someone else permission to trust their own experience. And for the next generation of girls in sport, that could mean learning that resilience isn’t ignoring pain - it’s recognising when your body is asking to be heard.

What Still Needs to Happen?

Women’s sport is thankfully starting to change the narrative. Conversations that were once confined to whispered dressing-room chats are now taking place on podiums, in press conferences and across social media. But this newfound visibility is only the first step. "Awareness about the basics is key. Endometriosis doesn't just give you bad period pain," says Gillett, who believes education across sport and healthcare still has a long way to go.

General Practitioner, Dr Leah Austin, agrees that momentum is building. “Women's sport is becoming more open about discussing menstrual health. The next step is ensuring that awareness translates into meaningful support."

That support, from coaches, clinicians and governing bodies, is exactly what campaigners at Endometriosis UK say must come next if every athlete is to reach their full potential.

Henshaw makes the point that change also starts by redefining resilience: “Some days, 50% of my usual is more than enough if that's all I have on that day. It's so important to listen to your body and learn what works best for you."

It turns out the bravest performances don’t always happen on a start line. Sometimes they begin with three words: “I have endometriosis.”

Visibility isn’t the finish line. It’s the starting gun. Every athlete who chooses to speak openly makes it a little easier for the next girl to speak up, trust her body and seek help sooner. Because perhaps the greatest legacy these women will leave won’t be measured in medals or records, but in a generation of girls who grow up knowing that pain should never be the price of participation.

There’s a story that, as women, I think many of us know far too well.

It might be one we’ve lived ourselves, one shared, or one we’ve never quite found the words to explain. A story about changing a route, changing a workout, or changing how we show up in a space because something—or someone—made us feel uncomfortable.

Today, this story starts with a number. In an exclusive first look, Marie Claire UK reveals new Sport England research showing that 86% of women aged 16 to 34 have experienced harassment or intimidation while exercising in the past three years.

Read that again.

We’re not talking about one woman having one uncomfortable interaction in a changing room. Nor an awkward moment that someone has brushed off as “probably nothing”. It’s a pattern of experiences that are shaping how women move, in spaces that are supposed to make them feel stronger.

The report also reveals that 43% of women aged 16 to 34 who don't currently use gyms or leisure centres say concerns about sexual harassment have directly influenced their decision not to attend. Among women who do use these spaces, 62% say they have changed their behaviour after experiencing or witnessing harassment or intimidation. At the same time, one in ten have stopped using a workout space permanently following an incident.

The findings arrive at a time when women’s participation in fitness is quite literally booming: 7.6 million women now routinely take part in fitness activities—1.4 million more than 2021—with Gen Z leading the charge through strength training and gym-based exercise.

The message is crystal clear: women want to be in these spaces. The question is whether those spaces are making women feel safe enough to stay.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

New Sport England Research Confirms a Worrying Barrier to Entry for Women: Not Feeling Safe

Sadly, these numbers aren't just statistics: they're the lived reality of millions of women worldwide.

​The new Sport England research asks a simple question: how safe do women actually feel in gyms, leisure centres and other places where we’re supposed to be getting active and feeling safe doing so?

​The answer is uncomfortable. Only 45% of women aged 16 to 34 believe these spaces are as safe and welcoming for women as they are for men. Let that sink in for a second. Fewer than half of us walk into a gym believing we’re on equal footing before we’ve even picked up a dumbbell.

​Only 45% think enough is being done to tackle harassment and intimidation.

​If you’re 16 to 24, the concern is even greater. The generation driving the current gym boom is also the generation most worried about what might happen when they get there.

And the numbers go on.

If you’ve ever hovered at the edge of the weights area pretending to stretch while you work up the courage to walk in, the figures probably won't surprise you.

But that's what's most worrying. According to the research, 78% of women aged 16 to 34 have experienced non-verbal harassment: the staring that lasts a little too long, the lingering nearby, the man who seems to follow from machine to machine without ever technically saying anything. It’s awkward to explain, even harder to report, and very easy for someone else to brush off, which is exactly why so many women end up second-guessing themselves instead of the behaviour.

So when women say they’ve changed how they use the gym, they’re really not being “dramatic”. 62% have changed their behaviour after experiencing or witnessing harassment or intimidation. And the changes are painfully familiar: 29% avoid dressing in a certain way, 29% avoid going at certain times, and 29% avoid areas of the gym that usually have more men.

Perhaps the statistic that says the quiet part out loud: 43% of women aged 16 to 34 who haven’t used a gym in the last year say concerns about sexual harassment influenced that decision.

The details are in the data. They reveal not just how many women feel unsafe, but the small, everyday decisions they are making because of it. But numbers can only take us so far. To understand what this really looks like, we spoke to the women who've experienced it firsthand.

"I Changed My Workout Before I Changed Gyms"

What’s particularly striking is that while the data shows just how widespread these experiences are, many women were still reluctant to come forward and share their stories. But perhaps that isn’t so surprising. These moments can be difficult to explain, easy to dismiss, and often leave so many questioning whether what happened was “bad enough” to talk about in the first place.

But whether it’s a comment shouted across the street, unwanted eyes in the gym, or simply the feeling of being watched, the impact is real. The real issue is that these experiences are so often reduced down to “just” something: just a comment, just banter, just an awkward interaction, despite the research showing that they can shape whether women feel able to exercise freely at all.

Ally Head, Senior Health Editor at Marie Claire UK, knows that feeling all too well. During lockdown, while training for a 37-mile ultra marathon, she experienced something that would go on to change the way she approached running forever.

"It was peak lockdown, and I was banking a training run when it happened. Alone, on a deserted street in central London, a man backed me down an alleyway, shouting abuse and squaring up to me."

"I’ve never felt fear like it. For what felt like an eternity but was probably a minute, I genuinely didn’t know what he was going to do next. Eventually, he backed off, and I made it home—physically unscathed, but mentally shaken up."

"Sadly, it wasn’t an isolated incident. Catcalling, heckling, and unsolicited comments all seem to be part and parcel if you’re a woman who moves her body in public. I've experienced it on the street, in the gym, and in parks."

"It took years to rebuild my confidence—I still haven’t run with both headphones in, and I still rarely wear my hair in a ponytail or plait, in case someone were to grab it."

"In the aftermath, I found myself doing what so many women do: interrogating my own behaviour instead of his. Were my shorts too short? My top too revealing? Had I taken an unsafe route? It took time to understand that I wasn't the problem—and I should never have been made to feel like I was."

What this research exposes is a sad fact: that too many of us are treating safety planning as part of our workout routine—and we’ve become so used to it that we barely bat an eyelid.

We Need Safer Spaces to Move—So What Happens Now?

The fitness industry’s latest answer to women’s safety concerns is often female-only spaces. And while many women genuinely value them, there’s an uncomfortable question attached to their popularity: isn’t it worrying that we’ve had to create a separate space all in the name of avoiding harassment while exercising?

Women shouldn't need their own corners of the gym. They should feel comfortable—and safe—enough to workout in exactly the same spaces men do.

Yet sadly, the Sport England research shows women don't have the luxury of simply deciding whether they want to exercise. Instead, we're having to decide how to make exercise feel manageable. From the time we consider working out, we're having to avoid certain spaces, carefully choose what to wear, and pick which moments we choose to ignore, rather than challenge, because we don’t want the situation to escalate.

We’ve become so accustomed to these adjustments that they've started to look like normal gym behaviour rather than a response to feeling unsafe.

That is exactly what This Girl Can and Sport England want to change. Claire Edwards, Head of Campaign Activation at Sport England, says the biggest takeaway isn't just the scale of the issue, but what responses revealed. “The fact that 62% of women changed their behaviour after experiencing or witnessing harassment or intimidation underlines how much women want to be in these spaces. They're adapting themselves to be able to stay within them.”

But there is a limit to how much adapting women can be expected to do. As Edwards explains: “Constantly having to make these adjustments will become exhausting and ultimately push women away from being active in these spaces altogether.”

The answer, she says, is not asking women to shrink themselves—it’s creating environments where they no longer feel they have to.

That is where Safer Spaces to Move comes in. Developed by This Girl Can and ukactive, the resource hub provides gyms and leisure operators with practical tools, training, policies, and guidance to help prevent harassment, respond appropriately when incidents happen and build trust with their members.

Creating Environments Where Women and Girls Feel Safe

It's not all bad news, and there are also signs of progress. Since the launch of Safer Spaces to Move, more women are reporting clearer codes of conduct, processes and information about where to go for support at their fitness centres.

For Edwards, the ambition is simple: “To create environments where women and girls feel safe, welcome and confident to be active.”

For all the uncomfortable truths in this research, there is hope. What should give us genuine optimism is that women aren't retreating from fitness—far from it. We're showing up in record numbers, community in tow. We're taking up space in weight rooms, signing up for running events, learning to lift heavy, and proving that the desire to move, train and feel strong is not the issue.

It's clear that the fitness and health sector is stepping up and leading the way on women’s safety—but there is so much more to do to ensure all spaces are safe and welcoming.

If this research achieves anything, it's this: we need to stop treating women's safety calculations as an inevitable part of exercise, and start treating them as a problem that can—and should—be designed out of the experience altogether.

Whether you are a tennis fan, a runner, a wild swimmer, or you are just looking for a way to accurately pace yourself on poolside margaritas, this summer stylish women everywhere are swapping their everyday timepieces for sportier watches that are every bit as chic as they are fun.

Choosing the right sports watch comes down to the activities you love. If you are a fan of speed or time-based sports, such as athletics, football or motorsports, then you might want to consider a chronograph that can give accurate timing. If watersports is more your vibe, seek out waterproof watches. Most contemporary sports watches will have you covered for a length of the pool, but if you are planning on some serious diving then look for a diver’s watch with greater functionalities to allow you to go deeper. And for sports such as tennis, golf or skateboarding, seek out a shock-proof timepiece.

Summer is also the time for travel. Even if you don’t consider yourself to be the sporty type, a good sports watch can be a great choice for holidays as they tend to be water resistant for beach or pool days, as well as robust enough to survive a sweat-inducing stroll around a market town. A rubber or fabric strap is far more forgiving in the heat than leather one. Stainless steel and ceramic bracelets are also good options.

Buying a sports watch is also a fun way to add a pop of colour to your wrist this summer. Opt for bright shades like pink, turquoise, green and yellow—or go all-white to show off your tan. Whatever your colour or sport of choice, forget the rule book, pile on your favourite bracelets and charms collected from your travels, and create a wrist stack that feels uniquely yours. Scroll on for our edit of the best colourful sports watches for summer.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

The Summer Sport Watches Worth The Investment

Never did I think, when setting out on a career in fashion journalism, that I would end up writing about football. And yet the fashion-sport crossover has struck again—this time perfectly timed for the summer of football, with the Champions League just coming to a close and the World Cup 2026 starting today. And it spans far further than the sea of Arsenal shirts currently doing the rounds in North London.

Tommy Hilfiger has partnered with Liverpool FC. Grace Wales Bonner has released a re-edition of Adidas's Predator football boot in snake print. Selfridges has opened a FIFA World Cup pop-up, and Jacquemus and Nike have collaborated with the Fédération Française de Football on a World Cup capsule collection.

This article is part of our 2026 Women in Sport special. For the full cover interview with Lioness Chloe Kelly, click here.

Add to that the fact that Romeo Beckham—member of the most famous family in football—has just launched a vintage football-inspired clothing range, Intra. That Simone Rocha's Autumn/Winter 26 collection drew heavily on the sport. Martine Rose's latest Nike collection is titled The Lionesses with a football-inspired website to match. And that every single person in the Marie Claire office, football fan or otherwise, is pinning Stella Jean's jersey outfits to their summer moodboard. The football fashion moment is no isolated incident.

Stella Jean, in particular, takes the typical football kit well beyond jeans and trainers, turning it into something closer to a patriotic fashion statement—effortlessly cool and entirely moodboard-worthy. A look sure to be widely recreated once the World Cup properly gets underway.

As Soccer Bible puts it, football culture remains luxury fashion's sharpest reference point. Track tops, jerseys and shorts have long served as inspiration across the luxury sphere—though this season, a more literal approach appears to have been taken, right down to Prada's very own black leather football.

And the appetite only seems to be growing. As Sky Sports reports, women now make up 35% of the total football fanbase, while 31% of adults in England are specifically interested in women's football—a number that continues to rise. Interest in the trend, I suspect, will follow suit.

Ready to tap in? Here's how we're wearing it, Stella Jean style.

3 Ways to Style Your Football Shirt the Stella Jean Way

Football Shirt + Statement Accessories

A statin skirt, gold-tone sandals and elaborate accessories will make any World Cup watch party outfit a standout. This look feels especially Stella Jean.

Football-Inspired Top + Printed Trousers

If you know you won't get any wear out of an actual football shirt once the World Cup is over, best to invest in a football-inspired pick instead, like this Martine Rose find. Patterned trousers and a statement bag will make it all the more impactful for any watch party.

England Shirt + Bold Skirt

Fancy putting your patriotic foot forward? There are ways to make the traditional England football shirt feel more chic. Take a bold hued midi skirt, heeled sandals and a sleek tote bag as just one example.