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Apparently threatening to shove a tennis ball down the line judge’s throat wasn’t enough to preclude Serena Williams from being named the 2009 Athlete of the Year. I mean, it’s not like she said “f-ing ball or f-ing throat” or ranted so loudly that millions heard.

But alas, the Associated Press has named Williams the AP Female Athlete of the Year (and just to show they weren’t afraid of a little controversy, they also named Tiger Woods the Athlete of the Decade). Were these the same people who voted for the most recent Nobel Peace Prize winner?

I don’t know, but I do know that certain qualities were obviously left out of this vote. You know, things like integrity, respect, sportsmanship, philanthropy and being a good role model.

So, this led me to conduct my own very scientific poll (consisting of just me) on who are some the greatest female athletes of our time – basically, women you would want to introduce your kids to. Here’s who I nominate:

Paula Radcliffe – Less than 10 months after giving birth to her first child, she won the New York City Marathon. She is a World Champion in the half marathon and full marathon, and has won NYC three times.

Kathrine Switzer – Who can ever forget her? A pioneer to women’s marathon running, Kathrine was the first woman to officially enter and run the illustrious (and formerly men’s) Boston Marathon.

Grete Waitz- This Olympic silver and gold medalist won nine New York City Marathons – more than any other woman in history. She also does a great deal of charity work for Special Olympics and CARE.

Chrissie Wellington – This three-time Ironman World Champion makes the guys in the triathlon world look over their shoulders because she’s usually out in front. She also smashed a course record that lasted 17 years!

Beckie Scott- You may not recognize the name as much as some of the others, but Becky is a heck of a good cross-country skier, having won 17 World Cup medals. She’s also super-involved as a humanitarian with UNICEF and Right to Play as well as an active participant with the World Anti-Doping Agency, helping to keep dopers out of sports.

Dara Torres- Dara is unquestionably an incredible swimmer who has competed in five Olympics with 12 medals to show for it. At the age of 40, (just 15 months after giving birth to her first child), she won gold in the 100 meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals. She then followed that up by twice breaking her own American record in the 50 meter freestyle, 26 years after she first set the American record at just 15 years old. Can you say, “Girl power”?

Sarah Reinertsen — Sarah was the first female leg amputee to complete the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. She first attempted to finish the race in 2004, but was disqualified when she failed to meet the qualifying time for the bike portion by 15 minutes. She returned in 2005 with more determination than ever and completed the race in just over 15 hours. She has also completed numerous marathons and holds the world record in the half marathon (2:12) and the marathon (5:27) for above-knee amputee women. What a role model.

I know there are dozens of other worthy mentions, so I’d love to know, ladies, what other female athletes would you add to the ranks of the most-respected female athletes of all time?

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There are 2 comments on this post. Join the discussion!

anngaff says:

Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Mia Hamm

Michelle Akers

Candace Parker

Jennie Finch

Sanya Richards

Allyson Felix

Gail Devers

Natalie Coughlin

Nastia Liukin

Shannon Johnson

....there are so many!

Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 3:39pm EST

anngaff says:

Take a look at the article: http://www.womentalksports.com/items/read/40/117203 and you'll see why I'm also adding Charde Houston to this list.

Thursday, December 24, 2009 at 3:43pm EST

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