Hi all,
I’m Sonja, inventory planner and resident women’s sports expert here at Title Nine. I’m back to share the stories you need to know about, and to keep giving women athletes the attention they deserve.
1. The U.S. women finished out the Olympics as powerful as ever! They won 67 out of the 126 of the total medals won by Team USA. If the U.S.women were their own country, they’d rank third for the highest number of medals. In addition, they won 65% of the total U.S. gold medals (26 gold medals). When asked about the women dominating in this year’s Olympics, WNBA star A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) responded, “I’m not surprised at all. When it comes to getting the job done, a woman’s gonna always step up to the plate and get it done.”
2. Team USA came out victorious in basketball – securing their EIGHTH consecutive gold medal after a nail biter of a game against France (67-66)! They set a new record for the longest gold medal streak in any Olympic team sport. Viewership peaked with 10.9 million people watching. Diana Taurasi is the only Olympic basketball player in Olympic history to win 6 olympic gold medals in a team sport.
3. This was the first time since the London games in 2012 that the USWNT was in the gold medal match! The unstoppable forces of the “Triple Espresso” aka Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith were ready to take on the G.O.A.T, Marta and team Brazil. In the 56′, Mallory Swanson put the U.S. in the lead and secured the win for Team USA! This is the fifth Olympic gold medal for the USWNT (’96, ’04, ’08, ’12 and ’24). 9 million people tuned in to watch and it was the highest viewed gold medal match since Athens in 2004. With the gold medal winning goal, that put Mallory at the top of the scoring board for Team USA with four goals. Swanson, Rodman and Smith scored 10 out of the 12 goals during the Olympics! Two of my favorite players- Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave) and Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars) were unstoppable with their defensive skills. Girma and Naeher were the only players that played for the full 600 minutes throughout the tournament. With this win, the US is now No.1 in the first FIFA rankings since the Olympics. They were previously ranked 5th, which was the teams lowest ranking yet. Lastly, this gold medal match was Emma Hayes (head coach) 10th game coaching the team (6 games at the Olympics)!
4. Is there a hurdle that Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone can’t handle? Sydney is the first woman in history to win back to back gold medals in the 400m hurdles and has been undefeated since 2019. In addition, she broke the world record previously set by herself with a time of 50.37! This is the sixth time that she’s set a new world record. In addition to the 400m hurdles, Sydney was also a part of the 4x400m relay which closed out track and field for the Olympics. The camera needed a better zooming out feature for the women’s 4x400m relay because the dominant team of Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes could not be stopped. Holmes crossed the finish line four seconds ahead of the rest of the field! This is the EIGHTH consecutive Olympics that the U.S. has won gold in the 4x400m relay.
5. The US Open (Tennis) is about to start! This is the fourth and final grand slam tournament of the year. The US Open announced that there is a 15% increase in the prize money this year. This will be the largest prize purse in tennis history resulting in a total of $75 million. The men’s and women’s singles champion will see a 20% increase from $3 million to $3.6 million. Thanks to Billie Jean King, who fought for leveling the playing field with equal pay on the tennis court, the US Open was the first grand slam tournament to grant men and women the same amount of prize money. Last year’s tournament marked the historic milestone of 50 years of equal pay between men and women!
6. The first sports bar in California dedicated to women’s sports is officially open! Watch Me! Sports Bar in Long Beach, CA is women-founded and run.
7. If you’re looking to change up your audio routine in the car, then I’d like to offer some suggestions! iHeartMedia and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment launched the “Good Game” podcast as part of newly launched Women’s Sports Audio Network. The network is the first ever audio platform dedicated exclusively to women’s sports. Another podcast in my rotation is “A Touch More Live” with Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird.
8. If you’ve become a women’s track groupie like me then Athlos is for you! This is the first ever women’s only track invitational – bringing together the fastest women in the world to compete for the largest prize purse ever for a women’s or men’s track event! The event is hosted by Alexis Ohanian (aka Serena Williams’ husband). The prize money for 1st place is $60K, which is double what track stars usually earn. The event will be held in NYC on Sept 26th, with six different events amongst 36 athletes. Alexis wants it to be the “Coachella” of the track – Megan Thee Stallion (rapper) has signed on to be the headlining performer. In addition, Alexis announced that instead of medals, the winners will be awarded with Tiffany & Co crowns.
9. One of the most debilitating injuries for women in sport are ACL injuries. Nike has launched a new project, Project ACL – dedicated to researching and reducing ACL injuries in women’s soccer. Teaming up with PFA, FIFPRO and Leeds Beckett University, the three year project will review existing research with injury reduction, team resources and facilities and track players. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in ACL injuries in women’s soccer. In 2023, nearly 30 players missed playing in the women’s World Cup because of ACL tears. This season ending injury has sidelined players such as Cameron Brink (Los Angeles Sparks) and Christen Press (Angel City FC). Christen Press has finally made her return to the soccer pitch after being injured for 781 days.
10. The riders of Tour de France Femmes have crossed the finish line in the final stage of the tour. There were 154 cyclists which made up 22 teams of seven riders. Throughout the eight day race, they covered 949 km and completed 10,700 meters of vertical gain. Katarzyna Niewiadoma from Poland won the Tour de France Femmes title by over four seconds after outpacing the defending champion, Demi Vollering. This finish was the narrowest margin of victory in the history of both the men’s and women’s race.
Got another favorite moment to share? Drop it in the comments. Thanks for tuning in!
Sonja
