March is a month that we celebrate all the inspirational women worldwide, and it could appear challenging to pick out some of the brightest female Australian talents to grace the world of sport. Throughout history, some highly dominant female sports have represented the nation on the grandest stages, and we will examine some of the brightest stars right here.
Ashleigh Barty
Despite having a short career in the sport, Ashleigh Barty remains one of the most successful Australian tennis players in history. Barty became only the second Australian player to be ranked at first by the WTA, and she held the ranking for a staggering 121 combined. As well as dominating in singles competition, Barty was ranked as high as fifth in the world in doubles.
However, it was on the grandest stage that Barty often produced her best displays, as she landed three victories in Grand Slam events. That includes her success at the 2022 Australian Open, making her the most recent Aussie to land Grand Slam success. Following that success, Barty announced her retirement from the sport, despite being aged just 25.
Sam Kerr
There have been few more influential female soccer players than Sam Kerr. The Australian began playing the sport in 2008, and she later earned her first international cap at just 15. She has since achieved huge results with the national team, including victories at the Tournament of Champions and FFA Cup of Nations. Meanwhile, at the 2019 World Cup, she became the first Australian ever to net a hat-trick. She has been a highly sought-after player throughout her career and has represented some of the biggest club sides on the planet.
Those include Perth Glory and Sydney FC in her homeland before later moving to Europe. Kerr is the only female player to have won the Golden Boot in three different continents, having also achieved the feat in the NWSL in North America in every season between 2017 and 2019, as well as in successive seasons in England FAWSL between 2020 and 2022 with Chelsea.
Emma McKeon
It is a running joke that the Australians often dominate in the pool when the Summer Olympic Games get underway, and no superstar highlights that dominance more so than Emma McKeon. The 28-year-old is the most successful Olympian in Australian history and is also tied for the most gold medals after matching the five won by Ian Thorpe in 2021.
Despite appearing at just two Olympic Games, McKeon has won a staggering eleven medals, including golds in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, and 4x100m freestyle. All but one of her gold medals were won in Tokyo in 2021, except the gold won in the 4x100m Freestyle at the 2016 Games in Rio. As well as dominating at the Olympics, McKeon has also won four World Championship golds and a staggering 14 gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. More dominance could come in the pool in the coming years.
Michelle Payne
Many Australian females have needed to break down barriers in sports throughout history, but none were potentially as big as the glass ceiling that Michelle Payne smashed through in 2015. Payne landed the illustrious honor of becoming the first female to ever ride the winner in the prestigious Melbourne Cup.
That success means that she remains the only female jockey to have achieved that honor, and she also landed notable wins in other prestigious races such as the Toorak Handicap, The Thousand Guineas, and Tattersall’s Tiara. After winning the Melbourne Cup, her performances in the saddle were later honored in 2017, as she picked up racing awards such as the Longines Ladies Award and The Don Award. Payne was also inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Her success remains a reminder that females can aspire to achieve any goal, and the story of Payne reaching the top was later adapted into a feature film titled ‘Ride Like A Girl’.
Natarsha Donald
One of the fastest-growing sports in the world is eSports, with the industry worth over a billion dollars. The sport is becoming a growing dream among young stars worldwide, with events streamed on many leading betting sites and Twitch.
One of the most successful Australian stars in the sector is Natarsha Donald, who is widely considered to be one of the most talented female players of Call of Duty; Warzone. Her winnings may not be as great as others on the circuit, but she has enabled others to aspire to follow in her footsteps due to the success of her Twitch channel, with over 300,000 followers watching her Warzone streams.
Conclusion
There has been no shortage of female Australian sports stars who have pushed through the glass ceilings in many sports. With their successes, the appetite for further success in sports across the planet grows. But without some of the stars mentioned, those dreams would have been slightly smaller.
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