This Week's Women's Sports Recap

Paralympians condemn the word 'Participating' and instead opt for 'Competing.'

Some of the world’s leading Paralympians are set to declare that they’re not “participating” in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games as part of the International Paralympic Committee’s 'They’re not playing games' campaign, created by adam&eveDDB.

But by swiping left on the “I won’t be participating at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games” message, followers on social media will discover the athletes declaring “I will be competing” – a reminder that Paralympians have often been praised simply for taking part in sport, not because of their elite skills or fierce drive to win.

Among the world leading athletes registering interest in taking part are Jessica Long (USA), who has won 29 Paralympic medals including 16 golds, alongside Bebe Vio (Italy), multi-award and gold medal winning wheelchair fencer, gold medal-winning javelin thrower Manasi Joshi (India), silver medal-winning table tennis player Bhavinaben Patel (India), and sprinter Marissa Papaconstantinou (Canada), who won bronze in the 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The social strategy has been created to drive a conversation around the language used to describe Paralympians, compared to athletes who compete without a disability.

Read more on Creative Salon.

Parity athlete and Olympian Brittany Brown on life with Endo: “For a long time, my body was talking to me.”

Brittany Brown ran the 200m race of her life to qualify for the Paris 2024 games, clocking a personal best at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. And this week, she solidified her track-star status on the ultimate world stage, speeding to the finish in 22.20 seconds — and scoring the bronze medal at the Paris games. But the American sprinter hasn’t had the smoothest run to the top: Not only did she have to overcome a recent injury to achieve her dreams, she’s also had to compete while dealing with severe pain from another cause, endometriosis.

A chronic disease, endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This tissue can swell and bleed during menstruation, create scar tissue in the pelvic region, as well as cysts (from blood that gets trapped in the ovaries), and also cause a crapload of physical and mental pain. It’s estimated that 10 to 15% of reproductive-aged people with uteruses are affected by endometriosis, but the condition is under-discussed, understudied, and underdiagnosed across the board, particularly in racialized women. The exact cause of endo is unknown, and there is no known cure, so treatments are usually geared toward easing symptoms.

Brown started to experience debilitating cramping during her period almost 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until last year — and many false starts — that she was finally given an endo diagnosis. “For a long time, my body was talking to me, but I wasn’t listening,” she says. Brown is one of the few Olympic athletes to talk openly about her #EndoWarrior status. 

Read more on Refinery29.

Team USA Women's Basketball Olympics viewership numbers released.

One thing is clear. A lot of people tuned to watch the US women's national basketball team win gold against France in the Olympics. However, given all the attention Caitlin Clark not being a part of the team has received, their ratings numbers were always going to be discussed. Which was certainly the case after the data was released.

The contest, which had a very early 9:30am ET start time, drew 7.8 million viewers, peaking at 10.9 million for the final half hour of the one point affair. That is a bunch of eyeballs any way you slice it. Though, it only took moments before people wondered what the numbers would have looked like with Clark, and how they compared to previous years.

Read more on Sports Illustrated.

Injured Olympic athlete gets carried off court by her opponent to huge ovation from crowd.

Brazil’s Tamires Morena produced one of the most touching moments of the Olympics in Paris after she carried her injured opponent off the court.

Brazil were already up by ten goals in their final Preliminary Round Group B women’s handball match when Angola’s captain Albertina Kassoma fell to the ground after missing a shot.

Kassoma stayed down and received medical attention for her injured knee.

After being examined by Angola’s team doctor, Kassoma got to her feet and was supported by Brazil’s goalkeeper, Gabriela Moreschi.

But before Kassoma moved, Morena stepped in to fully sweep her opponent off the ground and carry her to the side of the court.

Morena’s gesture was greeted by a huge ovation by the crowd inside South Paris Arena 6.

Read more on Metro.

Toronto’s WNBA franchise asks for help in creating team’s name, identity.

The expansion franchise has issued a “call for inspiration,” asking fans from across Canada to “share ideas, hopes and suggestions” for everything from the team’s name to its colors and identity.

“We don’t want to limit people,” team president Teresa Resch said in an interview. “Instead of just asking for a name, we want people to really share with us what this team is going to mean to them, what inspired them — any sort of inspiration that moves them.

“And we hope to hear from all of Canada and really take all that information and create a name and a full brand identity, from a collective and not just a name or two here and there.”

Read more on the Toronto Sun.