And we also start right away. With the first transgender cheerleader in the NFL, the first skate park in Libya and a soccer player who does not give up her place in the national team despite pregnancy so easily.
Whoever thinks of Libya, thinks above all of unstable political conditions. All the better news is that now the Australian Wade Trevean has built a skate park in Tripoli together with residents - the first ever in the country. Due to the civil war, there were hardly any recreational facilities for young people. The idea was to create a facility where people could come together to play sports. Trevean had already successfully built skate parks in Mozambique and Iraq. Both thumbs up for this action!
The Topcats, the Carolina Panters' cheerleading team, are getting reinforcements. But not just anyone: Justine Lindsay is joining the NFL cheerleaders as the first black trans woman and wants to be a role model for inclusion in competitive sports. "A dream come true," she wrote about it on Instagram. "This is a moment I will never forget and I can't wait to show you all what this girl has to offer." Coach Chandalae Lanouette is adamant about one thing: Lindsay made it to the Topcats on talent alone - not as part of a quota. Congratulations, Justine!
The world of figure skating is extremely tough and competitive, and for younger athletes* in particular, it can be a huge burden. Most recently, for example, we had heard about 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Waliyeva, who collapsed after a positive doping test and a special start right in the individual competition. Now the world federation ISU has decided: the minimum age in figure skating is to be gradually raised to 17 by the next Winter Games in order to protect young people from burnout, eating disorders and long-term consequences of injuries. This is the right thing to do, we think.
As soon as female athletes get pregnant, that's it for competitive sports - that's the expectation women have to live up to. Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir from the Icelandic women's national soccer team does not want to let this get her down and shows that she can combine both: Family and sport. Even during her pregnancy, she continued to train with the help of a special coach, so that after giving birth she was back on the pitch after just five months. Before this physical and mental strength, which is necessary for this, we take our hats off.
No handball without Alexander Petersson. So it was so far at least, but now he says goodbye to the competitive sport. The Good News at it: the handball is for the native Icelander not only his profession, but has also fundamentally positive things in his life. "Handball has steered my life in a better direction," he told "Mannheimer Morgen." He used to be in a kind of youth gang: "There you do more and more nonsense the older you get." Instead, he opted for professional sports - and more than successful!
The 38-second mark is cracked! Before the start of the World Championships in the United States in July, it could not run better for the German sprinters. In Regensburg, they cracked the old record after ten years with 37.99 seconds. Up to the world's top it is still a piece, but Owen Ansah, Lucas Ansah-Peprah, Kevin Kranz and Joshua Hartmann show that the best prepared for the World Championships. We keep our fingers crossed!