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“I did it. We did it. I can hardly believe it.”

— Demi Vollering after becoming the second woman to win all three Grand Tours — winning the Giro on the final climb of the nine-stage race. 

An unbelievable French Open 💥 🎾

When the French Open started three weeks ago no one expected the final would come down to a 19-year-old #8 ranked player v. the #114 ranked player in the world — not over all the favorites who were lining up in Roland Garros. But that's what happened at a wild tournament.

Mirra Andreeva won over Maja Chwalinska in two sets 🥇

Mirra Andreeva

• Burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the Madrid Open and became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000-level tournament

• At 19, she's the youngest player to win the French Open since Monica Seles

• She's also the first Russian to win since Maria Sharapova — but is competing under a neutral flag

💜 FUN: Just her, her coach's dog, and her trophy 

Maja Chwalinska

• Was ranked #114 going into the French Open

• Only the second woman to ever make a final in the Open era after playing her way in via a qualifying tournament

• Had no clothing sponsor going in and had earned just $864,030 total in her career — and will now add another $1.6 million by making the French Open final

💜 In fact, she was struggling to pay for her Paris hotel room in the second week of her run — not expecting to be there for that long and with prize money not being paid until after. But then a Polish energy drink company stepped in to foot the bill

(Photo: Rue Kaladyte)

Lael Wilcox rides around the world — faster 🚲

In 2024, Lael Wilcox rode around the world in 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes. This week, she headed out to try and do it in just 78 days.

🚲 What does "riding around the world" mean as an official record? Athletes can make up their own route — there is no official route — but they have to ride a minimum of 18,000 miles, ride continuously in one direction (east-to-west or west-to-east), and the total distance traveled including ferries and flights should equal at least the distance of the equator.

In 2024, she broke the women's world record by 16 days. This year, she's trying to break the overall world record. That will require riding ~240 miles/day. She also shaved her head for aero gains — which could cut off 13 hours over the whole ride!

There's a fair point to be made that we don't need to compare the women's records to the men's records to create mainstream buzz, or treat the women's records as lesser. But it's also a fair point that if Lael can ride 30 days faster (!) and with less sleep, it'll be very impressive 🚴‍♀️ — and it'll be fun to watch her try no matter how it turns out!

🌏 TRACK HER PROGRESS: Follow along on the tracker — she's already made it from Chicago up to Canada — and on her Instagram

📺 WATCH: Lael Rides Around the World

Join us at FeistyFest 🎉

For a three-day festival for active women 🏊‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️ 🧘‍♀️ 🚴‍♀️ from Sept. 18-20 in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania! 

💜 Move: Rides, runs, swims, strength training, yoga, pickleball. Do your favorite activities or try new ones in a safe space.

💜 Learn: No bro science, no hype. Just real experts with education and info centered on women’s bodies.

💜 Connect: Surround yourself with other women who get it. Make new friends and fill your cup with old ones.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER at feisty.co 🫶

The highlight reel

• With Golden Tempo's win at the Belmont Stakes this weekend, Cherie DeVaux made more history (after the win at the Kentucky Derby earlier this year) as the first female trainer to win multiple Triple Crown races 🐎
  
  
• 🚣‍♀️ Kelsey Pfendler is 19 days into her attempt to become the first American woman and the youngest to row solo from California to Hawaii. You can follow along on Instagram.
  
  
• 🏃‍♀️ Audrey Werro surprised the running world with a 1:53.98 800m to win the Stockholm Diamond League meet, and break the Diamond League record and the Swiss national record, and become just the third woman in history to go under 1:54.
  
  
• 🏃‍♀️ Agnes Ngetich won the New York Mini 10K by 46 seconds and set a course record. The Mini was the world's first ever women's only road race in 1972 and this year had over 10,000 women racing.
  
  
• The U.S. 🇺🇸 beat Australia for the 3x3 Basketball World Cup 🏀 in a close 21-20. Games are played to 21 points and the U.S. was down 20-19 until Mikaylah Williams hit a game-winning two-pointer.
  
  
• Nelly Korda won the U.S. Open 🏌️‍♀️ on the final putt and took home $2.5 million from the record-setting $12.5 million prize purse.
  
  
• Three million viewers tuned in to watch Texas beat Texas Tech in just two games to win the college World Series. 🥎
  
  
• 🥎 The AUSL is also starting its second season this week — hoping to capitalize on the momentum coming out of the Women's College World Series. This year the pro softball league will have six teams and teams are now assigned to individual cities instead of on a touring format. AUSL has also signed a deal with ESPN to broadcast 50 games, with the first game of the championship airing on ABC as the first time pro softball will ever be on broadcast TV.
  
  
• In pursuit of an NCAA championship rowing title, Texas set a world's fastest time for the varsity eight boat in 5:47.706. 🚣‍♀️ In fact, four of the six teams in the final would have beaten the world's best time — except that World Rowing only counts world records for races that use Swiss Timing as the official timing provider.
  
  
• 🚲 Caroline Livesey set the record for the North Coast 500, a 516-mile cycling route in Scotland, in 32 hours and 22 minutes.
  
  
• 🏐 Major League Volleyball, which merged with the Pro Volleyball Federation and has eight teams, will add four more for next season.
  
  
• 🏈 ESPN2 will air the Women's National Football Conference Championship on June 21.
  
  
• ⚽ The NWSL finals will be held this year at Audi Field in DC.
  
  
• ⚽ The USWNT lost 2-1 in a friendly against Brazil ahead of next year's World Cup.
  
  
• The men's World Cup starts this week in N. America — and with women accounting for a *large and growing* percentage of the fan base, the NWSL is hoping it'll also translate to growth in the women's soccer fanbase. 
  
  
• Plus, the last time the men's World Cup was in the U.S., Diana Ross delivered an opening ceremony that's not to be forgotten. This year, it'll be Shakira in Mexico City .
  
  

Your Feisty recommendations

🎧 What to listen to: "Women's sports are good business with Kate Veronneau"

📚 What to read: "The 10-year-old who can deadlift 180 pounds"

📺 What to watch: Ready for some more ice sports-based sports romance? Try Netflix's Finding Her Edge

🫶 Where to find us: Are you going to be at Western States? At TrailCon in Tahoe? Women of trail running, join us for lunch on June 23 to get to know other women in both the industry and on the trails

The Feist is written by Kelly O'Mara. Ads by Ella Hnatyshyn

Live Feisty Media Corporation, 770 Central Spur Rd #109, Victoria, BC V9A0G7, Canada

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