She Reads . . : Sports.

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:17:08 GMT

Stover, Kaite Mediatore (author).
FEATURE. First published September 1, 2009 (Booklist).

She’s Got Game

For women, the challenges in sports can be more than physical. They can be political, cultural, and mental. Women’s sports have always been around, witness the Hera Games, circa 776, a precursor to the Olympics. But up until the early 1900s, athletic options for women were severely limited. Even today, mention sports for women, and most folks will conjure up an image involving dresses, makeup, glitter, and music. Where’s the sweat? Where’s the muscle? Where’s the dirt? Women asked these questions because they wanted harder hits, stronger swings, and powerful punches.

Nike Is a Goddess reminds athletes everywhere, professional and armchair, that for women, sports can be liberating. Each chapter, written by a leading female sports journalist, chronicles the history of an athletic discipline through feminine achievement. Witness the wonder of Gertrude Ederle swimming the English Channel in 1926 or the power of Billie Jean King winning the “battle of the sexes” in 1973. Perhaps the most inspiring story is Agnes Keleti’s. A talented gymnast, Keleti missed the 1940 Olympics when they were cancelled and was expelled in 1941 from her gymnastics club because she was Jewish. When WWII ended, Keleti, then 27, went back to training only to miss the 1948 Olympics due to an injury. Still determined, Keleti, by then an unheard-of 31, competed at the 1952 Olympics and once more in the Melbourne Olympics, where, at age 35, she became the oldest gymnast to win a gold medal.

If you want more feats, pick up Making Her Mark: Firsts and Milestones in Women’s Sports. Kathy Kusner became the first woman to be granted a jockey’s license, in 1968; however, an accident kept her from being the first woman to race at a pari-mutuel track. That honor went to Diane Crump in 1969. Want skating stats? Here they are: at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics, three U.S. women tied for the silver medal in the 500-meter speed skating. Figure skating became an Olympic sport for women before skiing.

Few would argue that one of America’s most beloved, colorful, and gifted athletes is Babe Didrikson Zaharias. This Texas tomboy won gold medals in track and field, played with a professional Jewish baseball team, and became an accomplished golfer. She could play billiards, basketball, and tennis. No sport escaped her competitive spirit. What captivated the press most was her sleek androgynous look and brash personality. The story of Babe’s struggles to balance her powerful athleticism with a softer feminine look and maintain her media popularity are captured in Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias.

While both words begin with W, not too many sports fans put wrestling and women together. Amanda Storm, aka BlakWidow, body slams readers with her behind-the-scenes account of the professional wrestling world. Her training is intense, her humor infectious, and her wisdom regarding her opponents and the fans is for the ages. Amanda proves that dumb broads won’t make it in the world of pro wrestling.

Any column on women in sports must include a “girl-and-her-horse” story. The best one out there is the kids’ classic National Velvet. Forget Elizabeth Taylor. This Velvet is gawky, coltish, and spirited, just like the horse she wins in a village lottery. Enid Bagnold’s equine tale still holds up after all these years with its nail-biting suspense and warm family humor.

Titles Discussed:

Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias. By Susan E. Cayleff. 1995. Univ. of Illinois, $25 (9780252065934).

BlakWidow: My First Year as a Professional Wrestler. By Amanda Storm. 2000. ECW, $17.95 (9781550224313).

Making Her Mark: Firsts and Milestones in Women’s Sports. By Ernestine Miller. 1994. McGraw-Hill, $16.95 (9780071390538).

National Velvet. By Enid Bagnold. 1935. HarperCollins, $6.99 (9780380810567).

Nike Is a Goddess: The History of Women in Sports. By Lissa Smith. 1998. Grove/Atlantic, $14 (9780871137616).

Kaite Mediatore Stover is Head, Central Readers’ and Circulation Services, Kansas City (MO) Public Library. For a man’s point of view, see what David Wright thinks.

Booklist Online - She Reads

She Reads . . : Sports.