World championship & world records

$221 million

- The earnings of the top 15 female paid athletes in the world — according to Sportico's newly released annual list. That's up 27% from last year and there are now 11 athletes who made at least $10 million (up from six last year).

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

1. 2,400 women take on half-Ironman World Championships

In New Zealand on Saturday (Friday midday in N. America), a record number of woman will tackle the 70.3 World Championships — including two-time defending champion, Taylor Knibb 🥇

Who could win?

There are 46 professional women lining up to race for this exciting middle distance title: 1.2-mile swim 🏊‍♀️ + 56-mile bike 🚴‍♀️ + a half-marathon 13.1-mile run 🏃‍♀️.

That includes last year's first and second, Taylor Knibb and Kat Matthews (who also took silver at the full Ironman-distance world championships in Nice). Plus, two previous podium finishers, Imogen Simmonds and Paula Findlay. And, local favorite, Ashleigh Gentle, who is ranked #2 in the world but is making her Ironman world championship debut.

And, there's a race-within-the-race for the Ironman Pro Series title and it's $200,000 bonus.

Plus, over 2,400 amateur women will compete for their own world titles in their own women's-only world championship race. The oldest racer is 80 years old and the youngest is 18 👏

📺 How to watch: 7 a.m. Saturday in New Zealand (10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on Friday in N. America) on Outside Watch in N. America and on Ironman's Youtube globally

LEARN MORE: A new study from SheRACES and FundHerTri UK barriers study surveyed over 900 female triathletes about the barriers deterring them from entering a race — and 28% said they had experienced verbal or physical harassment during an event. Let's fix that!

(Photo: Ultraman World Championship)

2. Understanding the WNBA expansion — and its draft 🏀

Last week, the newest WNBA team, the Golden State Valkyries, drafted 11 players from the other teams in the league to get their new squad started. So, how the hell did that work?

The WNBA expansion draft

With the league expanding to a new team in 2025 (Go Valkyries!) and with two new teams planned for 2026, how those teams are able to build up their rosters is important.

First, the new team gets to participate in a draft just for them as an expansion team. The rules are: They can draft one player from each existing team — including any players that team has the rights to (ie. injured, reserve, etc). BUT (!) the existing teams are able protect up to six of their core players, making those players ineligible to be drafted.

Some big surprises for the Valkyries: They drafted former Iowan fan favorite Kate Martin from the Vegas' Aces and they grabbed unrestricted free agent Monique Billings from Phoenix.

Next: There is a free agent period + the college draft in April.

The big college draft question

Where will likely #1 draft pick UConn star Paige Bueckers end up? She's expected to be THE big name coming out of this season (and just became the first college NIL athlete to release a signature shoe). But the Dallas Wings have claimed the first draft pick — and she doesn't seem excited to end up in Dallas...

So, could teams trade for her to end up in L.A. or the Bay Area? Or, will she opt for another college season and wait? The WNBA certainly hopes that doesn't happen! 😳

For 2026: The first Canada team was also unveiled last week. Meet the Toronto Tempo 🏀

3. Despite gains, female athletes still struggle to make a living 💰

A new report from Parity surveyed 500 pro athletes from 55 sports on their 2023 earnings and found the majority of them are still barely getting by.

58% of athletes made less than $25,000 from their sport
After expenses, 50% of women reported net earnings were ZERO
74% had jobs outside of and on top of their sport

Understandably, this leads a lot of women to want to quit! 64% said they considered early retirement due to financial stress.

The good news

Even just a small sponsorship can make a huge difference. Of the athletes, 42% said a $5,000 sponsorship would be very meaningful, and 88% said a $20,000 partnership would be life-changing.

Plus, the return on sponsoring female athletes is big: Women's sports fans are 2.8x more likely to purchase a product recommended by a female athlete and female athletes are viewed as more trustworthy & as good role models.

Pay these women!

Tip of the week

In what may come as no shock to coffee drinkers, caffeine can help you run faster and feel less tired. A study of sprinters found that when they chewed caffeinated gum (3mg of caffeine per kg of body weight for 10 minutes), they ran a series of sprints faster and felt less fatigued than after chewing non-caffeinated gum.

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The highlight reel

⛸️ Amber Glenn became the first U.S. woman to win the figure skating Grand Prix final in 14 years — while 3x world champ Kaori Sakamoto was third. It's been a long journey. Glenn, who is bisexual, also became the first openly LGBT+ athlete to win the national title earlier this year.
🏊‍♀️ Summer McIntosh 🇨🇦 set a new 400m freestyle short-course world record to finish out her year (3:50.25).
At the 100km world championships 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️, held in India by the International Association of Ultrarunners, Floriane Hot led France to team victory with a win in 7:08:43 for the 62.2 miles.
Nadia Battocletti 🇮🇹 became the first woman to win the U20 (in 2018 & 2019), U23 (2021 & 2022), and senior (2024) European Cross-Country Championship titles.
The Kalakaua Merrie Mile, a pro race that's part of the Honolulu Marathon, uses a handicap system that gave the women a 32-second head start this year (two more seconds than last year) — and, after many years of men taking the tape, 🏃‍♀️Nikki Hiltz led a podium sweep from the women's division. Though, Hiltz, noted that they're non-binary — so a woman still hasn't officially won!
⛷️ Lindsey Vonn has earned the right to a World Cup wildcard start with her return to international skiing. Could she get back on a World Cup podium now at 40?
⛷️ Mikaela Shiffrin, who was going for a first-ever historic 100th World Cup win last weekend when she crashed, is back up and walking.
Katrin Davidsdottir, the 2x Crossfit Games champion, announced her retirement. 🏋️‍♀️
A 59-year-old Canadian grandma set a new world record for total number of push-ups: 1,575 in one hour.
After winning the NCAA Cross-Country Championship, Doris Lemngole 🇰🇪 ran a new indoor collegiate 5,000m record this weekend of 14:52.57. And at the high school level, Jane Hedengren 🇺🇸 set a new course record at the national Nike Cross National (NXN) meet. The kids are alright.
University of North Carolina won its 23rd NCAA soccer title ⚽. And, as the NCAA volleyball tournament gets ready to start on ESPN, this was the most watched regular season ever.
🚲 Grace Brown is taking over as the new president of the Cyclists' Alliance. On her agenda: safety and salaries for female riders.
Next cycling season is going to be 🔥😳 — with a ton of big name women all targeting the same big races. And to that end, FDJ-Suez unveiled a splashy partnership with Specialized to get Demi Vollering back on top.
🧗‍♀️ Barbara “Babsi” Zangerl became the first climber ever to "flash" a route on the famous El Capitan — which means to successfully complete a route on your first try (with some prior knowledge of the route).
And the LPGA became the first professional sports league to ban trans women outright. The new rule requires that players must have medically transitioned before going through puberty; however, a number of laws in some countries and states limit or prohibit gender-affirming medical treatments for minors (making that requirement impossible) and there is currently no clear definition or standard of proof for "before puberty."

Your Feisty recommendations

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What we loved: Nothing like seeing your wife and teammate score the winning goal

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