Stunning Female Athletes: When Beauty Mixes With Talent

Whitney Miller

• Date of birth: May 8, 1989
• Place of birth: Corpus Christi, Texas, United States

• Sport: Boxing
• Start of career: 2016

Relationship: Engaged to entrepreneur and Onnit founder Aubrey Marcus

Other occupations: 

• Won the Miss United States title in 2012
• Former professional Wakesurfer
• Former MMA’s Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian fighter
• Fitness Model
• Reporter for Glory Kickboxing
• Relationship coach, confidence mindset coach and 1 on 1 couples coach
• Host of the True Sex and Wild Love podcast

Taylor Pischke

• Date of birth: April 18, 1993
• Place of birth: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• Sport: Volleyball – Double
• Start of career: 2012

Greatest achievements:

• Won 2 bronze medals at the under 23 World Championship (in 2013 and 2014)
• Won 7 medals (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) at the NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit between 2013 and 2015

• Family: She is the daughter of two-time Olympic champion Garth Pischke, who played with the Canada’s men’s national volleyball team, and of Canadian Junior National team athlete and three-time CIS National Champion Cindy Shepherd.
• Other occupations: Was the advocate of the Dove campaign “My Beauty My Say” in 2016. She is a student in the Faculty of Science at the University of Manitoba.

Cheyenne Woods

• Date of birth: July 25, 1990
• Place of birth: Phoenix, Arizona, United States

• Sport: Golf
• Start of career: 2012

Greatest achievements:

• Won the 2012 SunCoast Ladies Series LPGA International
• Won the 2014 Volvik RACV Ladies Masters

• Family: She is the half-niece of professional golfer Tiger Woods
• Did you know: In the history of the LPGA, there have only been six black female professional golfers, including Woods.

Sarah Bäckman

• Date of birth: December 8, 1991
• Place of birth: Stockholm, Sweden

• Sport: Arm wrestling, Wrestling
• Career: 2005-2014

Greatest achievements:

• Named World Arm Wrestling Champion 8 times
• Named European Arm Wrestling Champion 8 times
• Named Swedish Arm Wrestling Champion 11 times
• She’s one of the most decorated women’s arm wrestlers in the world

• Relationship: Now single. Was married to American professional wrestler Bo Dallas until 2019.
• Other occupations: She now works as a real estate broker

Yuliia Levchenko

• Date of birth: November 28, 1997
• Place of birth: Artemivsk, Ukraine

• Sport: Track and field – High jump
• Start of career: 2013

Greatest achievements:

• Won a gold medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing
• Won a bronze medal at the 2016 World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz
• Participated in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
• Won a bronze medal at the 2017 European Indoor Championships in Belgrade
• Won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in London
• Won the gold medal at the 2017 European U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz
• Won a silver medal at the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow

• Did you know: In 2017, she was named European Athletics Rising Star of the Yearby EA
• Outstanding success: In 2017, in London, at the age of only 19, she was named high jump vice world champion

Sierra Blair-Coyle

• Date of birth: January 30, 1994
• Place of birth: Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

• Sport: Rock climbing
• Start of career: 2008

Greatest achievements:

• Current Pan American Bouldering Champion
• Was a World Cup Competitor from 2010 to 2018
• Finished 1st at the 2018 Mesa Rim ProAM
• Finished 1st at the 2019 Jackalope Fest
• Finished 1st at the 2019 Bend Summer Comp

• Did you know: In 2015, she was part of the AskMen’s Top 99 Most Outstanding Women
• Other occupations: She has a degree in marketing from Arizona State University

Simone Biles

• Date of birth: March 14, 1997
• Place of birth: Columbus, Ohio, United States

• Sport: Gymnastics – Women’s artistic gymnastics
• Start of career: 2011

Greatest achievements:

• Participated in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she won 5 medals (4 gold and one bronze)
• Won 25 medals in World Championships (19 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze)
• Won 2 gold medals at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships
• Won 3 medals in FIG World Cups (2 gold, one silver)

• Relationship: Dating professional American football player Jonathan Owens
• Other occupations: Co-author of the autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance. Competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars.

Camila Giorgi

• Date of birth: December 30, 1991
• Place of birth: Macerata, Italy

• Sport: Tennis
• Start of career: 2006

Greatest achievements:

• Won first place at the 2013 US Open, defeating former world No. 1 player Caroline Wozniacki
• Won first place at the 2013 Indian Wells Open, defeating former world No. 1 player Maria Sharapova
• Won first place at the 2013 Eastbourne International, defeating former world No. 1 player Victoria Azarenka

• Did you know: Before turning to tennis, Giorgi was more interested in artistic gymnastics
• Fun fact: Her father coaches her, and her mother designs the dresses she wears for matches

Gracie Gold

• Date of birth: August 17, 1995
• Place of birth: Newton, Massachusetts, United States

• Sport: Figure skating
• Start of career: 2003

Greatest achievements:

• Won a silver medal at the 2012 World Team Trophy in Tokyo
• Won a silver medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Minsk
• Won a gold medal at the 2013 World Team Trophy in Tokyo
• Won a bronze medal at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi
• Won a gold medal at the 2015 World Team Trophy in Tokyo

• Did you know: Gold struggles with mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression and an eating disorder.
• Fun fact: To improve her figure skating performance, she took ballet classes

Darya Klishina

• Date of birth: January 15, 1991
• Place of birth: Tver, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

• Sport: Athletics – Long jump
• Start of career: 2010

Greatest achievements:

• Won a gold medal at the 2011 European Indoor Championships in Paris
• Won a gold medal at the 2013 European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg
• Won a gold medal at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan
• Won a bronze medal at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich
• Won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in London

• Did you know: Since 2017, Klishina has been competing as an authorized neutral athlete, i.e., a Russian athlete, approved by the IAAF at her own request, to compete without national affiliation under a neutral banner
• Fun fact: In 2018, the athlete put her career on hold to focus on her studies

Ivona Dadić

• Date of birth: December 29, 1993
• Place of birth: Wels, Austria

• Sport: Athletics – Track and field
• Start of career: 2002

Greatest achievements:

• Won a bronze medal at the 2015 European U23 Championships in Tallinn during the heptathlon event
• Won a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships in Amsterdam during the heptathlon event
• Won a silver medal at the 2017 European Indoor Championships in Belgrade during the pentathlon event
• Won a silver medal at the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham during the pentathlon event
• Participated in the 2012 Olympics in London
• Taken part in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

• Fun fact: She won her first competition at only 9 years old
• Did you know: She has a cross tattoo with her brother’s name on her left hand, as he died in a car accident in 2008.

Antonija Sandrić

• Date of birth: May 19, 1988
• Place of birth: Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia

• Sport: Basketball – Point guard
• Start of career: 2005

Greatest achievements: 

• Won both national championship and Croatian Cup in 2008 with the Jolly JBS club
• Won the bronze medal at the 2009 Mediterranean Games with the national team
• Participated in the 2012 Olympics in London

• Relationship: Married to Croatian basketball player Marko Sandrić
• Other occupations: She focuses on her athletic career. She has received many modelling offers—after all, she was named the most beautiful female competitor at the 2012 Summer Olympics by Bleacher Report!—, but turned them all down.

Paige VanZant

• Date of birth: March 26, 1994
• Place of birth: Dundee, Oregon, Unites States

• Sport: MMA – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• Start of career: 2012

Greatest achievements:

• One time champion of the UFC’s Fight of the Night
• One time champion of UFC’s Performance of the Night
• MMAjunkie.com’s 2019 January Submission of the Month

• Relationship: Married to professional MMA’s fighter Austin “The Gentleman” Vanderford
• Other occupations: Author of Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life (2018). Modeled for Nike and Columbia Sportswear. Participated in television competitions Dancing with the Stars and Chopped.

Caroline Wozniacki

• Date of birth: July 11, 1990
• Place of birth: Odense, Denmark

• Sport: Tennis
• Start of career: 2005-2020

Greatest achievements:

• Won 30 WTA singles titles and 2 WTA doubles titles
• Won the 2006 Wimbledon girls’ singles title
• Won the singles title at the 2018 Australian Open

• Relationship: Married to former NBA basketball player David Lee
• Did you know: In 2018, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. On February 10, 2021, she announced that she was expecting her first child.

Lindsey Vonn

• Date of birth: October 18, 1984
• Place of birth: St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

• Sport: Alpine ski racer – Downhill, Super-G, Giant slalom, Combined
• Career: 2000-2019

Greatest achievements:

• Won a gold medal in Downhill and a bronze medal in Super-G at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver
• Won a bronze medal in Downhill at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang
• Won 8 World Championships medals (2 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze)
• Won 3 Junior Worlds Ski Championships (2 silver and 1 bronze)

Relationship: 

• Married to former US Ski team athlete Thomas Vonn (2007-2011)
• Dated golfer Tiger Woods (2012-2015)
• Dated NFL assistant coach Kenan Smith (2016-2017)
• Engaged to defenseman hockey player P.K. Subban (2018-2020)

Other occupations: As of 2014, she owned a small herd of cows on a farm in Austria.

Sally Fitzgibbons

• Date of birth: December 19, 1990
• Place of birth: Gerroa, New South Wales

• Sport: Surfing
• Start of career: 2004

Greatest achievements:

• Won the Billabong Pro Brazil ASP Women’s World Tour in Rio de Janeiro in 2014
• Won the Fiji Pro ASP Women’s World Tour in Tavarua in 2014 and 2015
• Won the Oi Rio Pro ASP Women’s World Tour in Rio de Janeiro in 2019
• Was ranked #1 in the world for women’s surfing in June 2019

• Did you know: Before becoming a professional surfer, she was a national champion winning middle distance runner
• Fun fact: She is a third cousin of former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich

Lieke Klaver

• Date of birth: August 20, 1998
• Place of birth: Velsen, Netherlands

• Sport: Athletics – Track and field
• Start of career: Began running at the age of 9

Greatest achievements:

• Represented Netherlands at the 2019 World Athletics Championships
• Won a gold medal at the 2021 European Indoor Championships in Toruń
• Won a gold medal at the 2020 Indoor National championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands
• Participated in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

• Did you know: At first, she was not interested in athletics, but her mom insisted. She said, “I really wanted to dance but my mother thought, ‘You are always running with your brother so you two can take up athletics?’”
• Fun fact: Since the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, she’s a hot topic in TikTok, and her Instagram followers went from 275,000 to 500,000

Michelle Waterson

• Date of birth: January 6, 1986
• Place of birth: Aurora, Colorado, United States

• Sport: MMA – Karate, Muay Thai, BJJ
• Start of career: 2007

Greatest achievements: 

• 2013 Atomweight of the Year
• 2014 Atomweight of the Year
• As of 2021, she’s ranked #8 in the UFC women’s strawweight rankings

• Relationship: Married to former U.S. Armed Forces amateur boxing champion Joshua Gomez
• Other occupations: Model and UFC competitor

Michelle Wie

• Date of birth: October 11, 1989
• Place of birth: Honolulu, Hawaii

• Sport: Golf
• Start of career: 2005

Greatest achievements:

• Was named Laureus World Newcomer of the Year in 2004
• Won the Rolex Annika Major Award in 2014

• Relationship: Married to Jonnie West (Director of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Warriors)
• Did you know: She was only 10 years old when she qualified for a USGA amateur championship, making her the youngest player to accomplish this feat. Since the beginning of her career, she has been subject to several controversies, including her performances at men’s events, the sudden dismissal of her caddie in 2006 and an alleged wrist injury in 2007.

Camille Leblanc Bazinet

• Date of birth: October 10, 1988
• Place of birth: Richelieu, Quebec, Canada

• Sport: CrossFit
• Start of career: 2010

Greatest achievements:

• 3-time Canada East Regional Champion (2011, 2013, 2014)
• Won the 2014 CrossFit Games
• 2-time South Regional Champion (2015, 2016)

• Relationship: Married to CrossFitter Dave Lipson
• Did you know: She first started a career as a gymnast before tearing up her hip at the age of 16. After playing various sports, she started CrossFit after a man told her at a team party that she was out of shape.

Blair O’Neal

• Date of birth: May 14, 1981
• Place of birth: Macomb, Illinois, United States

• Sport: Golf
• Start of career: 1994

Greatest achievements:

• 2-time NCAA women’s long-drive champion
• Won the 2010 Big Break: Dominican Republic

• Relationship: Married to PetSmart Senior Director of Finance, Jeff Keiser
• Did you know: She is also a model and a Gold Channel personnality. Among other things, she appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition magazine three years in a row, from 2011 to 2013.

Shelina Zadorsky

• Date of birth: October 24, 1992
• Place of birth: London, Ontario, Canada

• Sport: Soccer – Defender
• Start of career: 2010

Greatest achievements:

• Won a bronze medal at the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship
• Won a silver medal at the 2012 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship
• Won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
• Won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

• Fun fact: She grew up playing soccer, but also track and field, basketball and volleyball
• Did you know: She graduated from the University of Michigan in Psychology in 2014

Fátima Diame

• Date of birth: September 22, 1996
• Place of birth: Valencia, Spain

• Sport: Athletics – Triple jump
• Start of career: 2013

Greatest achievements:

• Won a bronze medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships
• Won 2 bronze medals at the 2018 Mediterranean Games in Tarragona
• Won a gold medal at the 2018 Spanish Indoor Championships in Valencia
• Won a bronze medal at the 2019 Spanish Indoor Championships in Antequera
• Won a gold medal at the 2020 Spanish Indoor Championships in Ourense
• Won a gold medal at the 2021 Spanish Indoor Championships in Madrid
• Participated in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo

• Fun fact: She started her studies in nursing, but put them on hold to participate in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo
• Did you know: Her parents are of Senegalese origin and immigrated to Spain the year before her birth

Robin Bone

• Date of birth: February 13, 1994
• Place of birth: Toronto, Ontario,Canada

• Sport: Track and field – Pole Vault
• Start of career: 2010

Greatest achievements:

• Won the 2017 Outdoor AZPVA Elite Pole-Vault Summer Series
• Participated in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo
• 2-time CIS National Pole Vault Champion and Record Holder
• 3-time Canadian USports National Champion
• Won 5 OUA gold medals
• 6-time Canadian National Team Member

• Did you know: She first started a professional career in gymnastics, but had to stop at the age of 11 after suffering a severe concussion
• Fun fact: She is the only Canadian pole vaulter to wear a helmet during competitions because of the 5 concussions she had before the age of 15

Kaytlin Neil

• Date of birth: January 7, 1992
• Place of birth: Lindon, Utah, United States

• Sport: MMA – Muay Thai
• Start of career: 2016

Greatest achievements:

• Her fastest win was in 02:11
• Her fastest KO was in 02:11
• During her short professional career, she accumulated 4 wins and 4 losses

• Did you know: She has a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. She founded Bad Athletics, a fitness business.
• Fun fact: She competes under the nickname Katniss, inspired by the main character of the Hunger Games saga

Ivet Lalova

• Date of birth: May 18, 1984
• Place of birth: Sofia, Bulgaria

• Sport: Athletics – Track and field
• Start of career: 2000

Greatest achievements:

• Ranked 13th fastest woman in the 100 metres history
• Won a gold medal at the 2012 European Athletics Championships
• Won 2 silver medals at the 2016 European Athletics Championships
• Participated in 5 Olympic Games (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)

• Did you know: Her father is the 1966 Bulgarian 200 metres champion
• Fun fact: Starting at the age of 10, before taking up the Track and field 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres, she competed in swimming and gymnastics