The inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300 will mark several firsts, mainly of interest only to avid Indy-race fans, but one in particular grabbed my attention: this will be the first time that four women have started an IndyCar race. Methinks IndyCar is entitled to a little self-praise: “This is really fantastic for our sport,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the series’ commercial division. “Diversity is actually one of the attributes... 

You would be hard put to find a set of athletic skills more impressive than that wielded by acrobat and aerialist Lisa Whitmore , a formidable truth inescapably apprehended when viewing samples of her work:  Read More →

Today, International Women’s Day , we honor women—something we should in fact do every day, without prodding. Still, it’s nice to have a special day to celebrate women. I was pleased to find this beautiful tribute created for the occasion: Women of the World ~ Divine Goddesses :  Read More →

Brittney Griner is an incredibly gifted athlete. A mountainous exemplar of corporeal strength, Griner represents the awesome, ever-swelling physicality of today’s female athlete . None of which makes her a saint, of course. But neither does a punch thrown in a moment of mental opacity in the heat of athletic competition count her as a shaitan. What she did was unquestionably wrong, and she should be punished in the way typical for her offense... 

Lenda Murray , eight-time Ms. Olympia, the greatest female bodybuilder ever, seems to have a talent for dance too, as seen here in video taken at the 2009 Lenda Murray Bodybuilding Championships . Perhaps a stint on DWTS (which, boo! doesn’t have a female athlete this season ) is next?  Read More →

As a rule I don’t pay much attention to the photoshopped creations of fanboys. More often than not they look horribly disarranged, as should be expected. This work by ” LEEE777 ” is a striking exception, however. It has a naturalness to it (as long as you don’t look too close, that is). Moreover, it captures the essence of Wonder Woman, she standing strong after what was no doubt a great ruckus. But the credit, I suspect,... 

A remarkable performance by a sister-brother act, recorded live for The Good Old Days (circa 1981). Notice who is doing most of the heavy lifting:  Read More →

Olympic speed skater Jennifer Rodriguez finds herself atop a strange list . A reminder, just in case she (or we) needed one, that the Internet is like a shadowy lodestone attracting seemingly in greater measure the unreasonable and the unscrupulous. But disturbing as that is to ponder, it is better than another simile, one possibly more faithful: a finely polished mirror in which we find a clearer than we’d like to think reflection of our... 

MMA pioneer Erin Toughill talks about sparring with guys, making weight, showing everyone that she is the best in the world before she retires, and the woman she’ll have to defeat to do that— Cris “Cyborg” Santos :  Read More →

I’m fascinated by female aerialists, and with good reason. Their strength is unsurpassed; their grace, undeniable. Erna Sommer , the star of today’s post, is another aerial conjurer of that wondrous athleticism and mystical beauty which leaves mortals like yours truly spellbound. Enjoy!—  Read More →

If you watched women’s Olympic downhill skiing yesterday, you understand why Emily Brydon and her fellow competitors might think such a thing. We saw again the awesome difference strength can make in sports, seemingly almost any sport. The Vancouver Sun makes clear what sets Lindsey Vonn apart: The fact is, Vonn, an analytical perfectionist whose size and strength — she’s [ 5-10 and 165 pounds ] — allows her to race on more forgiving... 

I was fortunate to catch martial arts champion ( many times over ) Mindy Kelly on National Geographic Channel’s Fight Science the other night. Pretty cool stuff:  Read More →

Yesterday , I predicted the Lindsey Vonn- SI cover controversy , despite a brief lull, wasn’t over yet. And you’re about to see why. Say what you will about Vonn, but she is making the most of her “Olympic moment”—as well she should. This is a clever woman who knows how to take advantage of opportunities; earlier this month, she opened, in timely fashion, her own online store . What sparked the controversy was a cover.... 

An aphorism of James Thurber’s (a takeoff on Wordsworth’s “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity”) fittingly introduces this post. Now that the brouhaha over the Lindsey Vonn Sports Illustrated cover has calmed somewhat ( but only for a time , I predict), perhaps we are in a better place to enjoy a little satire, this cute video produced... 

When last we saw bodybuilder Kathy Bertram she was snapping a baseball bat . In today’s bit of fun we find her doing dishes, that is, in her own eccentric strongwoman way:  Read More →