A comeback story for the ages

Presented by:

Use the code THEFEIST for 15% off your first order at previnex.com

4:06.42

— The fastest mile ever run by a woman as part of Faith Kipyegon’s attempt at Breaking 4 — though it isn’t world record eligible and there are some controversies around how Nike timed the event. Kipyegon will now go after her own 1500m world record at the Pre Classic this weekend.

Three big stories to know this week in women's sports

1. Western States 100: A comeback & winner who wasn't even supposed to be on the start line 🏃‍♀️

After 16 hours and 37 minutes of running, Abby Hall won the historic Western States 100-mile race Saturday evening. In extreme heat, it was the fourth fastest time ever run by a woman.

But she almost didn't even get to start.

The last time Hall ran the race, in 2021, she finished over five hours slower.
Two years ago, she broke her leg in a freak accident and required major surgery; there were complications in the recovery and a long road back.
This season, she *twice* just missed out on earning a spot to Western States at a qualifying Golden Ticket race.

Then, EmKay Sullivan — who had finished ahead of her at one of the qualifying races, Black Canyon — got pregnant and deferred her entry. (Western States has a lifetime pregnancy deferral policy — you can come back anytime.) The Golden Ticket rolled down to Hall. And she made the most of it 🥇

PLUS: Hau Ha became the first Vietnamese 🇻🇳 finisher ever with a 6th place & Rini Sugianto became the first Indonesian woman 🇮🇩 to finish

FEISTY FUN: We also became new Xiang Fuzhao 🇨🇳 fans, after watching the second place runner calmly and cooly navigate the chaos of crew aid stations — all while eating noodles!

LISTEN: On Thursday, listen to the new Feist podcast episode, which will drop with interviews from the race

(Abby Hall crosses the line late Saturday evening.)

2. Euros ⚽ tournament aims to break records

The European Championship starts tomorrow in Switzerland with 16 teams and goals to go global in viewership and fans.

So far, record attendance of 600,000 is expected based on ticket sales, and tournament revenue will be close to €130 million (more than double the last tournament in 2022). Prize money has also more than doubled to €41 million.

Who could win?

The tournament is only held every four years (with the 2021 event held in 2022 because of the pandemic) — England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and the Lionesses were hosts and defending champs last time around. They'll face the Netherlands 🇳🇱 in pool play, who won the 2017 edition. Spain 🇪🇸 is the defending World Cup champs, but Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati is now out with meningitis. And Germany 🇩🇪 won six straight Euros titles, but hasn't won since 2013.

WATCH: In the U.S., Fox Sports will air all 31 matches with the quarter-finals onward all on FOX broadcast; in Canada, it's on TSN. Check the full list of global broadcasts 📺

READ: Naomi Girma is the first million-dollar player in women's soccer. She's underpaid.

3. How do you create the most valuable women's team ever? 🏀

The Golden State Valkyries became the first women's sports team to be valued at $500 million, according to a report last week. This is based on sold-out games and season tickets, and merchandize sales that trail only Caitlin Clark & the Fever.

But, as a brand new WNBA expansion team that's only played 16 games and has no *big* name players, how did they do it?

Deliberate and focused marketing and branding that understood the potential of the women's sport market as related to but unique from the men's market >> There's only a 7% crossover in who is a season ticket holder for the men's Golden State Warriors v. the women's Golden State Valkyries 🤔
Building on the history of women's basketball in the San Francisco Bay Area 📈
And embracing a distinct culture, that's notably queer, in the stadium and team management >> With women of color in positions of power both in the front office and in the coaching staff

Feisty's been on-the-ground for a few games in Ballhalla and can confirm: The vibes are on point — everything from the crowds to the half-time entertainment 🎉

NEW WNBA TEAMS COMING: This success is good news for the WNBA. The Valkyries were the first new expansion team since 2008, but the league has now announced that it'll follow two more new teams next year (Toronto and Portland) with three new teams by 2030: Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Detroit

Tip of the week

There's been growing hype about exogenous ketone supplementation and athletic performance — and you might be wondering if it's worth the money?

Ketones: When carbs are low, your liver turns fat into ketones or ketone bodies as an alternative source of fuel. Ketone esters — a kind of ketone supplementation — were developed to increase blood ketone levels without cutting carbs.

The idea is that by taking a ketone ester drink you can boost energy levels and delay fatigue. But research has been heavily mixed on whether this actually works as a performance aid in sports, with some studies finding some performance benefit and some finding decreased power output or GI issues. There's some suggestion it could help mental cognition and reaction time, and facilitate recovery.

Our verdict? Not worth it.

Why We Partner With Previnex

Maybe you’ve been wondering why The Feist is powered by Previnex.

There are a LOT of supplement companies out there. So what sets Previnex apart and why did we choose them? When Previnex approached us at Feisty back in 2020, we did a deep dive into the science behind their products. And here’s what we found:

✅ Their product ingredients are well-researched and science-backed

✅ Not only do they use the best ingredients, but they use the best forms of those ingredients

✅ Everything is tested in its raw state and the final state

✅ They offer 100% money back guarantee

But none of that matters unless the products make a measurable difference in your life. We endorse these products because frankly, they work for us, and we've heard from many women in our audience that they work for them as well.

Get 15% off your first order with the code THEFEIST at previnex.com

The highlight reel

🚲 Nathalie Baillon won the Tour Divide—covering the 2,704 miles in 16 days, 10 hours, and 17 minutes.
🚲 🚲 A record high 33% women raced SBT Gravel this year and the pro race was won by Melisa Rollins.
🏉 The Denver Onyx capped a dominant inaugural season to win the first Women's Elite Rugby championship Legacy Cup.
At a brand new location in Salt Lake City, the X Games celebrated their 30th year 🛹 A few highlights: 14-year-old Heili Sirvio won her first X Games gold in the skateboard park event (and stopped Arisa Trew's streak of wins — though Trew did win her 8th X Games medal with a silver in the skateboard vert and became the first woman to land a kickflip body varial 540). And Chloe Clovell took home best trick in the street event.
🎾 Wimbledon also started this week and either Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek could win their first Wimbledon title; Coco Gauff exited in a surprise loss in the first round. But, don't worry: Coco & Aryna have mended any arguments post-French Open with a Tiktok dance 💃
Olympic champ Katie Vincent 🇨🇦 set a sprint canoe world record in the women's C1 500-metre event.
And 53-year-old Rashelle Mason set a planking world record of 4 hours, 30 minutes, and 20 seconds — just nine seconds longer than the previous record.
🏀 Belgium won the EuroBasket championship, beating Spain 67-65. A number of WNBA players were out the last couple of weeks to play for their countries in the tournament — including one player who found out she'd been cut from the Valkyries *after* she landed back in the U.S.
In 3v3, Mongolia 🇲🇳 upset the U.S. in the World Cup quarter-finals. 🏀
The U.S. did win the inaugural Pan-American Lacrosse Championship. Plus, the Haudenosaunee Nationals team won a historic bronze, a first in international competition for the women's team. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy is a group of six indigenous nations in N. America, who are believed to have invented lacrosse in 1100 AD and who are petitioning to compete as their own country at the 2028 Olympics.
Eight-time Olympic medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce 🇯🇲, who announced she will be retiring, competed in the Jamaica National Championships one last time and made one final world championship team.
Two-time world champ Chase Jackson set a new American shotput record of 20.95m.
🏃‍♀️ ⛰️ Courtney Dauwalter won the Lavaredo 120K in 14:14.
After teasing that she was done, 7x Crossfit Games champ Tia-Clair Toomey announced she *will* compete in this year's Games. 💪
Two different women's tackle football leagues 🏈 will play their championships on ESPN2 this season.
The women's college world series got 1.3 million viewers, compared to the 1.2 million who watched the men's college world series.

Your Feisty recommendations

📺 What to watch: F1: The Academy — a seven-part Netflix series following 15 female drivers trying to get onto the Formula 1 circuit

🎧 What to listen to: "What's Next for Women's Sports?"

🎥 What to support: The crowdfunding effort to tell the story of the 1991 women's Rugby World Cup

💜 What we love: Malala launched an initiative to create more opportunities for girls and women in sports