July has been nothing short of a momentous month for women's sporting achievements around the world.
Women in football, cycling, darts and climbing have been smashing records throughout the month. We know that you can't be what you can't see, so with more media coverage and more people around the world tuning in to watch these fantastic sporting occasions, it's hoped that more young girls will take up sport.
There's still a lot of work to be done before we have gender equality in sport, but this summer has made us pretty hopeful that the future is looking bright. Let's take a look at some of the trailblazers who will be going down in history...
1) England win over Germany watched by record television audience
England created history by winning their first major women's tournament in a dramatic Euro 2022 final against old rivals and eight-time champions Germany at Wembley.
England's win set the record for being the most-watched women's football game on UK television, being watched by a peak television audience of 17.4 million on BBC One. The 2-1 extra-time win is also the most-watched programme in the UK so far in 2022.
A record crowd of 87,192 watched the game at Wembley Stadium, beating the highest total recorded in either the men's or women's editions of the tournament - what an achievement!
"They have changed the way women's football is viewed in this country," former England international and TV pundit Alex Scott told the BBC.
2) The first women from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Lebanon summit the world's second highest mountain
Pakistani Samina Baig, Iranian Afsaneh Hesamifard and Lebanese-Saudi Nelly Attar, became the first women from their respective countries to summit K2 in July.
Bangladeshi female climber Wasfia Nazreen also became the first person ever from her country to scale the mountain.
K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest. Besides being far more technically difficult to climb than Everest, K2 has notoriously fickle weather, and has only been scaled by 425 people since 1954 - including around 20 women.
3) Sam Kerr to be first female player on global Fifa game cover
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr will be the first female player to feature on the global cover of EA Sports' Fifa football game.
Kerr won the Golden Boot in 2021-22 as top scorer in the Women's Super League. She scored 20 WSL goals, helping Chelsea win the WSL title and FA Cup last season.
Female players have previously only featured on regional covers.
4) Jasmine Harrison nears half way point on her mission to become the first woman to swim the length of Great Britain
21-year-old Jasmine Harrison left her starting point in Cornwall on 29th June, hoping to become the first ever woman to swim from Land's End to John O'Groats.
In July she hit Wales, and at the end of the month she swam past the Lleyn Peninsula towards the top of the country.
She's aiming to swim for up to twelve hours a day in order to complete the 900-mile journey in three months. She said: "I can only swim with the tide, that's why it's twelve hours - six hours on, six hours off - twice in a day.
The challenge has only been officially completed by two other people. You can track Jasmine's swim here.
5) Heather MacRae becomes the first woman to win a Professional Golfers’ Association event
Heather MacRae has earned a place in the record books by becoming the first woman to win a Professional Golfers’ Association event.
The Dunblane woman achieved the feat in style in the PGA Scotland’s 36-Hole Order of Merit event at Strathmore in Perthshire.
MacRae emerged from treatment for cervical cancer in 2019 to become a winner again on the PGA scene.
“There’s so many great golfers playing these events, so it’s definitely given me a wee confidence boost,” Heather said. “I was just waiting for some putts to drop and finally they did."
6) The 2022 Tour de France Femmes broke records
Another historic moment in women’s sport happened at the end of July, with Annemiek van Vleuten winning the Tour de France Femmes at Super Planche des Belles Filles.
The 39-year-old Dutchwoman overcame a stomach bug to utterly dominate the mountain stages of the eight-day race, with only six riders finished within 10 minutes of her overall winning time.
The 2022 Tour de France attracted record-breaking audience engagement across 50 markets in Europe. It has been confirmed that the event also attracted the biggest TV audiences for EBU Members overall in terms of hours viewed since 2015.
7) England and Wales confirmed as hosts of Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026
The International Cricket Council has confirmed that England and Wales will host the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, for the first time since the inaugural event in 2009.
“We saw in 2017 how hosting the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup captured people’s imagination," said Clare Connor, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board. "I’ll never forget watching Heather Knight lift the trophy on that magical day at a sold-out Lord’s.”
8) Kelsey-Lee Barber becomes the first woman in the world to successfully defend her javelin world championships title
The 30-year-old Australian joins Cathy Freeman as the only Australians to defend a world track and field title.
After winning gold in Eugene, Oregon, on 23rd July, Barber declared that her goal was to confirm herself as one of the world’s greats of javelin.
“I have definitely dreamt of this moment,” she said. “It’s one thing to win it once, but to go back-to-back is totally different. And I’ll be honest in saying I wanted to do it, I’ve wanted it for a really long time."
“I always believed I had the capacity to go back-to-back. I am cementing my place as one of the world’s best javelin throwers and I want to keep building on that.”
9) Fallon Sherrock makes darts history again as she wins inaugural Women's World Matchplay
Fallon Sherrock made history by lifting the inaugural Women's World Matchplay title in Blackpool on Sunday.
The Queen of the Palace banked a modest £10,000 from the tournament, but the paydays in women's darts will climb steeply if she remains the standard-bearer.
Sherrock is already the first female player to beat a man at the PDC World Championship.
She said: "I think there are a few boundaries which need to be crossed first. We've just got eight women now and there are a few others, but there is still a massive gap."
"We need the women's series to carry on and give other women more confidence and more professional play."
10) Details released about the first Youth and Women’s America’s Cup for sailing
Two announcements made while sailing fans were awaiting the 37th America’s Cup protocol were plans to relaunch the Youth America’s Cup, and the creation of a Women’s America’s Cup for the first time.
In July, details of those two major pathway regattas were finally released.
The competition is set to take place in Barcelona in 2024. Both the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup regattas will be contested between 12 teams, split into two pools of six for an initial fleet racing series. The first pool will be comprised of the teams entered and competing in the America’s Cup.
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