What a Year in Womens Sports

What a Year in Women’s Sports

To say women’s sports grew a bit over the past year would be an understatement. What would be more fitting is that women’s sports have exploded this year, surpassing any previous records and expectations. From the viewership skyrocketing in women’s college basketball to unforgettable gold medal moments at the Olympics, it has been one heck of a year. Lets take a look just some of the magical moments that both stole our hearts and showed the world just how strong women athletes are. To start the year, we had the South Carolina Gamecocks go undefeated on their road to a national championship. The Gamecocks went 38-0 on what was called the “revenge tour” by junior guard Raven Johnson. The revenge was sweet because the team they beat was the Iowa Hawkeyes, led by star point guard Caitlin Clark, who is now in the WNBA. The championship game brought in over 18 million views, making it the most-watched basketball game at any level since 2019. This led us straight into the WNBA draft, where we saw one of the best recruiting classes in a while. The top 5 to get drafted went in this order: 1. Caitlin Clark-Indiana Fever, 2. Cameron Brink-LA Sparks, 3. Camilla Cardoso-Chicago Sky, 4. Rickea Jackson- LA Sparks, and 5. Jacy Sheldon-Dallas Wings. There plenty of other stars picked up in the top 10 also, including LSU alum Angel Reese and UCONN alum Nika Muhl. The WNBA saw a massive growth in ticket sales and viewership, the WNBA also got new deals and partnerships with broadcasting outlets, making it easier to see the games fans wanted to see.

Meanwhile, in the realm of USWNT soccer, the news was announced that Chelsea head coach Emma Hayes was being named the new head coach of the USWNT it was both a shock and relief that the US would now have a solid coach in position and not only that but one that has proven she is a winner by winning multiple league trophies with the Chelsea Women’s team. After a rough World Cup spell in 2023, the us was looking to bounce back for another major tournament, which was the 2024 Olympics. For Emma Hayes, it was a quick turnaround as she had to finish out the season with Chelsea, which took until late May. The Olympics started in late July, which only gave her about a month to get both her roster set and the team ready to go to battle. When the time came to release the final roster, it was a news-breaking day as Emma Hayes decided to leave legendary USWNT forward Alex Morgan off the roster. It was a shock for many, but Emma reassured everyone that she was looking for young and new stars and trusted those who were on the final roster to get the job done. Well, she was indeed correct as Emma Hayes and USWNT got back to their rightful throne and won gold for the first time since 2012, bringing home the gold in over a decade. In just six games as head coach, Emma Hayes was able to go undefeated in tournament play and win gold, which is something no coach has ever done at that level; she was able to finish the year undefeated as well. But with the ups come the downs, as the new generation comes up, this also means the older generation starts to weed out, and in 2024, we had many heartfelt retirements. Time uswnt players like Alex Morgan, Becky Sauerbraun, Alyssa Nahaer, and Kelley O’Hara all announced their retirements from soccer, but not without growing the game they loved and women’s sports as a whole for the better. The most shocking retirement was Sam Mewis, who at just 31 at the time, announced that she would be hanging up her boots as she could not get back to full playing ability due to a knee injury. The ups and downs are always there, but with the way the younger generations of US players are stepping up along with Emma Hayes as head coach to USWNT, it is definitely in good hands.

Speaking of the Olympics, this year’s most wonderful event, which happens every four years, was held in Paris, France. The Olympics is a time when the whole world comes together to tune in and watch the top athletes in the world represent their country and fight for Gold. For the US, many amazing women athletes and teams took the stage and never looked back. We have to start by discussing the US women’s basketball team, who were looking for their 8th straight gold medal. Yes, you read that right the women’s basketball team has been so dominant that this gold would be their 8th straight. They battled against the host nation France, and the game was down to the wire with WNBA player Gabby Williams playing for France, it was hard for the US to find a way to shut her down; the home crowd was in it, and it was getting too close for comfort. On the final play of the game, US was up 67-66; the ball was in Williams's hands, and with the final seconds ticking, she took the final shot. The ball missed its target by just a few inches, and the US women’s basketball team officially won their 8th straight gold medal. In other sports, Kaity Ledecky won four medals in swimming, including two gold medals, bringing her total to 14 Olympic medals overall. The US women’s rugby team made history by winning their first-ever medal, winning bronze, after beating rugby powerhouse Australia in the final seconds. Moving on to track and field, where star Sha’carri Richardson won silver in the 100m, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levorne won two gold medals, one in the 800m and one in the 4×400m, and Gabby Thompson won three gold medals in the 200m, 4×400m, and the 4×100m relay. To cap it all off, we got to watch the incredible Simon Biles destroy the competition and win four medals, three gold and one silver. The podium was lit up with amazing talent as well as diversity. Overall, the 2024 Paris Olympics was one of the best times in women’s sports this year.