The Girls Are Doing Alright

My current job is working with children and coaching them different sports. Whilst doing this, I hope to inspire them to see the benefits and wonder of participating in the activities that they do. To do this though, I think that role models need to be in the public eye, so these youngsters can aspire to be like them and see what is possible and achievable in life. This is particular true for females, who for some reason seem less infatuated with the world of sport. Thankfully, this past week has produced two young female role models, Ellie Simmonds and Laura Robson. Both come from different backgrounds, from different sports, but their achievements in the past week have certainly made people sit up and take note of what they are doing.

Simmonds achievements are clearly the greater. As a Paralympic athlete, she won the S6 400m freestyle swim in a magnificent manner, smashing the world record by 5 seconds as she retained her title at the age of 17. Yes 17! That means the girl achieved her initial Paralympic medal at the age of 13. A tremendous achievement and one that is a clear demonstration of what you can do with your life, particularly if you have been arguably disadvantaged by the situation you find yourself to be in. Don’t be surprised at seeing her back in the pool later in the week though. Just like her able-bodied compatriots, the Paralympic swimmers compete in multi-disciplined events, and as such, Smmonds is now competing in the 200m individual medley, whilst she is the current 100m freestyle champion as well. The weight of expectation on her will not rescind, but she is proving that she can cope with the pressure and arguably deliver exceptional performance after performance.

Furthermore, Simmonds reaction after winning was heartfelt, touching, and demonstrated what the victory meant to her. She tried valiantly to hold back the tears in the pool after seeing her world record time but in the end, the emotions won over. Then, as a 17 year-old child she belted out the national anthem on the podium. Proud to British, proud to be a champion, proud to be an inspiration. The Paralympic athletes are certainly pulling in the crowds with their work and success and inspirational stories. 17,000 people packed into the Aquatic Centre to see Simmonds take her gold medal. Even runner-up, American Victoria Arlen made people sit up and be amazed by her achievements. As an athlete who was also would have broken the world record, she was once in a vegetative state for two years and had to learn to swim from scratch once again. To push Simmonds as much as she did then should be applauded hugely.

Laura Robson is an able-bodied tennis player but after winning the Junior Singles title at Wimbledon back in 2008 at the age of 14, has just been in and around the circuit without ever displaying anything that suggested a star was there. Now though, she has burst onto the scene! After partnering Andy Murray to silver in the Mixed Doubles at the Olympics, Robson has now achieved one of the best British female performances in a Grand Slam in many years by reaching the last-16 of the US Open. Her run has even put Murray’s tournament into the shadows. Her run included high-profile defeats of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, two highly established members of the women’s game; in fact, for Clijsters, this was her farewell tournament before retirement, and with a good track record at Flushing Meadows, was expected to go far. Robson never looked particularly troubled by either of these opponents though, cleaning hitting the ball and dominating proceedings. The victories were justifiably deserved and brought about through her excellence rather than her opponent’s failings.

To bow out to Sam Stosur, the current US Champion is nothing to be ashamed of, whilst the experience and confidence Robson will have gained from this run should only inspire to continue to push on and hopefully raise her world ranking and go deeper into all of the Grand Slams on a more regular basis now. She is still only 18 and is now sat comfortably amongst the world’s top 100. Meanwhile, it goes to show the continued prominence and rise of female tennis players on the world stage. In the men’s game, the only British representative regularly appearing in all the Grand Slams is Andy Murray. The women now have Robson, Heather Watson, Anne Keothavong, etc. For youngsters out there, they can see that there is a pathway to success in sport at a young age with these role models in place. 

With this influx of young British sporting starlets, hopefully the future is one full of promise. LOCOG have been pushing the word legacy down our throats ever since they were awarded London 2012, and the impact these young girls are making in their sport at the current time, is surely only going to inspire more young girls to take up sport and potentially discover an untapped talent. I believe that youngsters are more likely to draw upon the success of those they can relate to most, and that will predominantly be via age, so the likes of Simmonds and Robson currently have a huge part to play in raising the profile of female sport. Too many girls turn their nose up at sport, or would rather be involved in something that keeps them fit and active but without the competitive, intense element sport brings. Hopefully, the inspiration these current stars are producing for the next generation will ensure that the conveyor belt of talent never diminishes.