iHZ 29: Coming In HOT!
See, Connect and Celebrate Women's Sport. We keep you in the loop on the latest news.
“Athlete Spotlight - Caroline Lambray”
This week's spotlight goes to CrossFit Level 3 Coach Caroline Lambray who became the first woman coach to lead an athlete to the title of Fittest on Earth at this year's CrossFit Games. Caroline is both coach and fiancé to this year's men's winner Jeffrey Adler (Canada). After winning the title, in an interview Adler reflected on his journey; “That’s why I’m here. There’s absolutely no other reason. She is the one that found me, trusted that we could work hard through the years and make it…”
Lambray believes women coaches are more likely to be hesitant to “take a risk” and put themselves out there, similar to the corporate world. Lambray believed in her abilities and asked Adler if she could take him on as an athlete and the rest is history. The men’s second place finisher at this year's Games and fellow Canadian, Patrick Vellner, is also coached by a woman, Michele Letendre, a six-time CrossFit Games veteran.
Lambray message; “Don’t forget to dream, dream big, and share it with the people around you. You never know.” Check out Live Q&A With CrossFit Games Champ Jeff Adler & Coach Caroline Lambray on Talking Elite Fitness.
iHZ Roundup
ATHLETICS: Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will miss the Athletics World Championships due to a knee injury.
FOOTBALL: Our Lionesses have DONE it. They made history by reaching the Women’s World Cup Final beating the hosts Australia 3-1. They now face Spain in the Final.
FOOTBALL: Depending on how many goals are scored in the final, it looks like Hinata Miyazawa (Japan) – 5 goals (1 assist) may just get the W for Golden Boot.
MMA: Cris Cyborg and Cat Zingano will get the chance to settle their long-time rivalry when they fight at Bellator 300 on Oct 17 for the Featherweight World Championship.
TENNIS: Seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams beat 16th-ranked Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 7-5 beating a top-20 player for the first time in four years. Unfortunately the 43-year-old was knocked out of the Cincinnati Open in the next round by Zheng Qinwen.
Get Seen!
ATHLETICS: Podium Picks
GB athletes Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson are targeting a podium spot at this year's World Athletics Championships. Since being crowned world champion four years ago, Johnson-Thompson has faced setbacks including an Achilles injury but she is hoping to find her groove again with an Olympic medal being the main goal. Asher-Smith said she is "stronger, faster, technically better” and “more confident” and is aiming to add to her eight world and Olympic medals in Budapest.
BOXING: Amanda Serrano Signed Boxer Debut
Former amateur Krystal Rosado is set to make her pro debut under the management of Amanda Serrano, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today, Friday 18th August in Orlando, Florida.
This is the second instalment of the Most Valuable Prospects, but the first female fight where Amanda Serrano will be right by her first signing’s side.
“She has an immeasurable amount of untapped potential and her growth as an athlete is already remarkable. … Even Nakisa and Jake were very impressed by her tenacity and determination in the ring,” said Amanda Serrano.
“It’s an honour to help her as she embarks on this next part of her career and I look forward to being there Friday night as she makes her debut. I promise it will be a battle you won’t want to miss.”
Watch on DAZN.
BOXING: Not Another One
Women’s Super-featherweight world champion Alycia Baumgartner returned an "adverse analytical finding" following a Clean Sports drug test. The 29-year-old denies the allegations and wrote on Instagram that she had "no intention of sitting back in silence and letting this 'play out’.” This follows yet another failed test in the sport in recent weeks with Dillian Whyte also testing positive for a banned substance, cancelling his bout with AJ.
Baumgartner provided three samples between 16 June and 15 July with the middle one testing positive for Mesterolone and Methenolone acetate metabolites. Baumgardner currently holds the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring titles in the super-featherweight division. This is big news in the women’s division so we will be watching closely to see the results of the investigation.
CRICKET: Be Yourself
England cricketer Maia Bouchier wants to combat anti-LGBTQ+ stereotypes and be a role model for the next generation by telling her story. Bouchier credits team-mate Rhianna Southby for helping her process and come to terms with her identity. She said;
"I've known her for years, and she was one of the first people who talked to me about being gay back when we were 13/14. That was one of the conversations that stuck in my head because I remember it being so easy to talk to her about it. I'm so happy to be where I am. I'm so happy to be a part of a family. Cricket is a family."
The BBC reported that in 2022, The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket's report 'It's Not Banter' found 53% of LGBTQ+ people disagree that everyone engaged in cricket feels they belong and can be themselves, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Bouchier wants to help create a safe space for people to be themselves.
FOOTBALL: Millions and Millions
The women’s world cup semi-final England vs. Australia drew in millions of viewers as reported by SportsPro Media.
Australia’s network Seven reached 11.15 million nationwide
BBC One had a peak audience of 7.3 million with an additional 3.8 million streaming on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport digital platforms
975,000 viewers watched the match on 7plus
Get Connected!
ATHLETICS: World Championships
The World Athletics Championships start this weekend, taking place 19-27 August in Budapest. More than 2,000 athletes from over 200 countries will compete in Hungary in the new purpose-built National Athletics Centre.
Check out the WorldAthletics website for information on timetable, events, tickets and more.
Watch Live
WEIGHTLIFTING: World Championships
The 2023 World Weightlifting Championships will take place 4 - 17 September 2023 in Riyadh. This will be a Paris 2024 qualifying event.
Checkout Live coverage at Weightlifting House
Get Paid!
FOOTBALL: Coming in HOT!
Sarina Wiegman is one of the hottest names in Football Management Globally right now. Sarina is on contract until 2025 and an extension was touched on after the Euros, but the FA warns that any approaches for her would be rejected.
For us, this is still a baffling realisation considering all of the success; Mark Bullingham (FA chief executive) believes Wiegman could have any job in football, however he admitted it could still be some time before an England women's manager would be compensated equally to their men's counterpart.
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