HONOUR OUR WOMEN!

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day today, Jamaican men in sports join in on the celebration by giving Jamaican female athletes their flowers.

The island has produced a vast number of elite female athletes who have made significant impact on the global stage in a number of different sports, including football, track and field, netball, cricket, and motorsports, just to name a few.

Male sporting performances are often more highlighted but these Jamaican men have decided to recognise and give the deserved credit to their fellow countrywomen for the outstanding achievements in sports.

Reggae Boy Damion Lowe, for instance, showed his appreciation for Reggae Girl Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw.

“Bunny is a dominant striker. Her strength, movement, and finishing make her one of the most dangerous forwards in the game. What I admire most is her mentality and consistency at the highest level while proudly representing Jamaica,” Lowe said.

Shaw has a number of achievements to her name, including being Jamaica’s all-time top goalscorer, Manchester City’s all-time top goalscorer in the Women’s Super League (WSL) and holds the record for most hat tricks in the WSL; as well as a number of awards including the first national female football player to be honoured with a national award — Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) for outstanding achievement in the sport — and the first Caribbean player to win the Concacaf Female Player of the Year award. Still, Lowe thinks more is due to her.

“Without a doubt (she deserves more recognition for her achievements.) Bunny has proven herself as one of the top strikers in world football. Sometimes players from smaller nations don’t get the recognition they deserve, but her performances speak for themselves,” he said.

Lowe said his admiration for her is not limited to her performances but is extended to the hope she brings to the nation.

“Bunny is extremely important for the growth of the game. When young girls in Jamaica see someone from their country performing at the highest level, it gives them belief that their dreams are possible,” he said.

The talent of Jamaican females in sports is also widely recognised in track and field with a few household names such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (five-time 100m world champion), Elaine Thompson-Herah (two-time Olympic sprint double champion), Shericka Jackson (fastest woman over 200m alive) and Veronica Campbell-Brown (eight-time Olympic medallist) often coming to mind.

However, the pool of talent expands way beyond those names, and national sprinter Tyquendo Tracey made sure to give others their due.

“Two female athletes that I look up to, and I really am happy to have known and trained with in the same environment, are Janieve Russell (Olympic relay bronze medallist) and Christania Williams (Olympic relay silver and bronze medallist). I’ve seen how hard they work and how they have overcome a whole lot of obstacles in their lives and have stood strong no matter what. They may not be the best in a lot of persons’ books, but they are on top in mine,” he said.

The athletic world does not lack respect for women’s performances in Tracey’s eyes, but he said there is always room for improvement.

“There may be a few places that it can improve but, from an athlete’s standpoint (however), I can see where women are really being shown a lot of love and respect,” he said. “In everything, there is always room for improvement. People do take advantage of whatever situations they can and I think it will be hard to totally get rid of that but, at the end of the day, it will come down to each individual to love and respect each other.”

Track and field has seen Jamaican women tallying more medals than men on the international stage. More than 50 of the 94 Olympic medals won by the country in track and field have come from women.

Sara Misir is one of theose names synonymous with groundbreaking, the racecar driver breaking through in a largely male-dominated sport.

Interim chairman of the JRDC board, Terome Marshall, acknowledges her impact on the sport.

“I admire Sara Misir because she competes in one of the most demanding and male-dominated sports with courage, discipline, and determination. Motorsport requires precision, mental strength, physical endurance, and resilience under pressure — and she proves that talent and skill knows no gender,” he said.

He said she is an inspiration to both genders.

“Her presence on the grid challenges stereotypes, inspires young and mature females alike to dream bigger, and elevates the standard of competition for everyone. Even us men are forced to pull our socks up knowing that, if she comes knocking, one error will cost you and she will not give you the chance to make another one. So her presence in motorsports is inspiring, not only by gender but as a great sport player,” Marshall said.

Misir is the first Caribbean woman to compete in the Formula Woman competition and is also an E1 Series powerboat racing standout. But, Marshall said much of her achievements have gone unrecognised.

“Sara has participated, not just locally, but also internationally. She sits as a first Jamaican female to represent us on various stages, much of which have gone unrecognised. Regardless of where she goes, she continues to represent her country with great pride. Too often, we fail to recognise or pay homage to individual’s achievements until other international organisations gives credence to one’s pursuit of excellence and qualities that define true champions both on and off the track. Sara Misir is one such example in my humble opinion,” Marshall said about Misir, who is the four-time RJR/GLEANER Motorsports Athlete of the Year.

Lowe, Tracey and Marshall have paid homage to but a few of the Jamaican women to have had standout careers.

This article would have to be made into a book to highlight Jamaica’s other amazing female athletes in other sports such as netball, swimming, bobsled, volleyball, gymnastics, and the list goes on.

With that said, The Gleaner joins these men in wishing Jamaican female athletes a happy International Women’s Day.