Our Top 25 Women of the Year

What makes a woman of the year? Gold medals? World records? Charisma?

Speaking out for what you believe in? Going where no one has ever gone before? Changing the world?

At TWS we wanted to recognise sporting excellence in all its forms. Our Women of the Year list isn’t a popularity contest, or a nod to the women with the biggest profile. This is about impact, on or off the field of play. And so, in and amongst our 51 women – well, we are 51 per cent of the population after all – you will find a mix of athletes, coaches, activists, administrators and scientists all doing extraordinary things.

From the groundbreaking research on periods by Dr Georgie Bruinvels, a former athlete who helped behind the scenes in World Cup victory of the US Women’s National Team, to the strength of Kadeena Cox, who has so courageously spoken out about her battles with disordered eating and body image while winning medals in her sport.

It celebrates, too, athletes who may not yet be at the top of the podium but have made a bold statement in order to change their sport for the better – such as British swimmer Alice Dearing, who spoke to

TWS earlier this year about the challenges of being a black woman in an overwhelmingly white sport. Or the stories of sportswomen like Fiona Kolbinger, whose events rarely receive the coverage they deserve.

We already know the playing field is unequal – but here at TWS we like to showcase talent as a meritocracy. To that end, thank you so much to our stellar judging panel who gave up their time to help us to shine a light on some truly extraordinary women in world sport. We hope you will agree that this is a collection of extremely worthy winners.