Dragonwing Girl Blog
February 14: Happy Birthday, Candice Wiggins!
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Happy birthday to Candice Wiggins, the former Stanford University starting shooting guard and current Minnesota Lynx player! During her college career, she was a three-time Pac-10 player of the year and a four-time All-American player (she is one of only seven female players to be named All-American four times). She also won the Wade Trophy, given to the best NCAA Division I player, her senior year.
March 17: Happy Birthday, Mia Hamm!
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Happy birthday to Mia Hamm, "the most important athlete of the last 15 years". Named the FIFA World Player of the Year twice, Hamm has won two Olympic gold medals- and one silver- and, with her UNC teammates, four NCAA National Championships. Besides that, she and the U.S. women's national team placed first in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and third in the 2003 World Cup. Furthermore, the iconic soccer player established the Mia Hamm Foundation after her brother died of aplastic anemia, a blood disease that can be cured via a bone marrow transplant. The charitable organization seeks to raise funds for, and awareness of, those people who need bone marrow or cord blood transplants.
March 29: Happy Birthday, Jennifer Capriati!
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Happy birthday to Jennifer Capriati, former world number one female tennis player. Capriati began playing tennis professionally in 1990, when she was fourteen, and became the youngest player ever to be ranked in the world top ten that same year. Besides her numerous successes as a top-ranked player, Capriati also holds the distinction of being the lowest seed to ever win the Australian Open when she won the 2001 title.
April 6: Happy Birthday, Janet Lynn!
Happy birthday to Janet Lynn, Olympic bronze medalist and five-time U.S. figure skating champion. Lynn skated her first exhibition performance at age four and, at age eleven, became the youngest skater ever to pass the eighth, and final, United States Figure Skating Association test. Besides that, Lynn was one of the first female figure skaters to perform the triple salchow and triple toe loop jumps in competitions, pioneering a style of skating that would be emulated for years.
April 6: Happy Birthday, Sun Wen!
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Happy birthday to Sun Wen, undoubtedly the best Chinese soccer player in the world. Often compared to Mia Hamm, Sun Wen won the 2005 AFC Women's Asian Cup, as well as both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball at the 1999 Women's World Cup.
April 8: Happy Birthday, Carla Overbeck!
April 19: Happy Birthday, Candace Parker!
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Happy birthday to Candace Parker, star player on the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, winner of the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Championships. Parker now plays for the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, was voted Favorite Female Athlete at the 2009 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards, and is the second WNBA player to dunk in a game.
May 16: Happy Birthday, Olga Korbut!
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Happy birthday to Olga Korbut, the Belarusian who has won four Olympic gold medals! Korbut has also won two Olympic silver medals and was the first gymnast inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1988. The Korbut Flip is named after her.
May 16: Happy Birthday, Joan Benoit!
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Happy birthday to Joan Benoit, two-time women's Boston Marathon champion. Benoit holds the fastest times of any American woman at the Chicago Marathon and the Olympic Marathon; she held the record at the Boston Marathon for 28 years. Her record-making appearance at the 1984 Olympics marked the first time the women's marathon was an event, thus making Benoit the original Olympic women's marathon champion.
June 14: Happy Birthday, Steffi Graf!
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Happy birthday to Steffi Graf, winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles! Graf is the only tennis player, male or female, to win all four Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in a single year and was ranked World No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association for 377 total weeks, a record that no other player has come close to attaining. In 1999, Graf was named the greatest female tennis player of the 20th century by the Associated Press, a title that was bestowed to her once again by Steve Flink, author of The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2004.
July 26: Happy Birthday, Dorothy Hamill!
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Happy birthday to Dorothy Hamill, three-time U.S. champion in singles figure skating. Hamill began skating in 1965 at the age of 8, wearing a pair of skates that cost $6.95. She won her first national novice championship in 1968 and won the senior U.S. Championships in 1974, 1975, and 1976. Besides that, she won the Nebelhorn Trophy and St. Gervais Grand Prix in 1972, the Richmond Trophy in 1973, and the World Championships and Winter Olympics in 1976.
Amazing Woman, Amazing Messages
In the past few months, I've been able to work with and be exposed to some amazing women. As part of my leadership class, I had the opportunity to interview the head of a local independent school. She was the first woman leader at the school! She also played collegiate level volleyball and is now a coach. I wanted to get her take on all things: from her story, to leadership, to some advice for girls and women.
A few quotes from our conversation that stood out to me were:
1. "Face the beast. And then conquer it. I would like to see more girls do that. These days, find whatever that subject is that's hard, don't run from it, face it and conquer it. You're more equipped than you think you are."
My interviewee was talking specifically about how she almost failed her college Spanish class, but, this lesson is applicable to everybody. Whether it's a teacher, a school subject, a coach, a tough sports play, a boss, anything; rise up and fight through it. Women, and people in general, wouldn't be where they are today if they ran from their challenges.
2. "I think everyone should have a little butterflies. Butterflies are normal. And embrace the butterflies."
Don't be afraid to be afraid. Harness your fear and run with it. Get excited about having butterflies, and use them to do and play your best. (You can also use Dragonwing to help you feel more confident about your sports-related butterflies!!)
3. "I shouldn't have to fight to be non-girly. I'm a girl. Get over it. I'm proud of being a girl."
She said it all right here. No caption needed. Own it girls.
This woman is doing amazing things and had a lot of great things to say about women. We need to keep women like her around! As this month is Breast Cancer Awareness month, women's strength is highlighted more than ever. Dragon Wing is supporting funding for Breast Cancer Research, by selling these bras! Take a look and help a great cause!
