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Mothers play important roles in their families' lives. When they are high performance athletes, they need specific supports that will enable them to excel in their roles as mother athletes. The feminist qualitative research in this chapter is based on data from two studies drawn from semi-structured interviews with elite female distance runners: 14 in 2013–2014 and 11 in 2021. We address two questions: (1) what are the considerations that elite female distance runners make around planning their pregnancy(ies) and family lives? and (2) how have experiences shifted between athlete interviews in 2013–2014 and a new cohort of athletes in 2021? In order to address these questions, we drew on three complementary theoretical approaches: liberal feminism, radical feminism, and strategic essentialism. Further, we then used thematic analysis and generated three broader themes about elite female distance runners that aligned with both cohorts of athletes. First, athletes are forced to plan/strategize their pregnancies around finances, competitions, contracts, and spousal supports due to the lack of support from athletic governing bodies or corporate sponsors. Second, female athletes who choose to have children experience stress and uncertainty in their athletic careers that their male counterparts do not. Third, elite female athletes are demanding that further change occur to address these inequalities, and participants offered a number of potential solutions to improve supports for these athletes. Although solid progress has been noted in the timeframes of our two cohorts, further commitment from athletic governing bodies and corporate sponsors is needed to work toward gender equity in athletics.

Guided by self-presentation theory and social role theory, this study examines the different strategies elite female athletes used in personal branding on social media before and after becoming mothers. Scholars have investigated the authenticity of female athletes’ frontstage versus backstage representation on social media for branding purposes, but this study further expands on existing literature to review how female athletes would present themselves in the same realm once entering motherhood.

Through a content analysis, researchers evaluated whether there was a shift in three elite female athletes’ (Serena Williams, Allyson Felix and Skylar Diggins Smith) Instagram posts and captions one year before their pregnancy and one year after motherhood. A total of 732 posts were examined and were organized into six main categories: athletic, professional, promotional, personal, motherhood and dual identity.

Results revealed there was a difference in the self-presentation strategies used by the three female athletes on their social media pages. Specifically, the researchers confirmed the presence of a combined role of athlete and mother.

The findings support existing literature on the importance and the challenges of “balancing” a third identity of blending being both a mother and elite athlete as one. Yet, the findings challenge the previous notion that women cannot continue to perform at an elite level and manage the expectations that society institutes of being a “good mother.”

This paper explores perspectives of elite female athletes competing at world championship sports events, hosted in extreme climatic conditions. From the athlete perspective, it examines the implications of decisions by global sports federations when selecting host cities and the subsequent impacts upon elite athletes competing in unfavourable climates.

Using an exploratory case study approach at the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, this paper explores insider perspectives of four elite female participants competing in the Marathon. Adopting the “elite interviewing” technique, and based on event participant experiences, the paper prioritises the perspective and “voice” of the athlete.

Four key themes emerged from the data. These were (1) the importance of training and preparation; (2) unique challenges of competition day; (3) elite athlete retrospection; and (4) prioritising the perspectives of elite athletes at international sports events. The findings highlight the challenges of managing athlete preparation and performance at world championship events hosted in extreme climatic conditions.

The sample size for this study whilst relatively small is unique. This reflects challenges accessing elite athletes, their reluctance to be interviewed, and the small pool of elite athlete talent available. Given these practical barriers, this represents a good sample size.

This paper secures unique insider access to elite level female endurance athletes competing at world championship events. The study makes a contribution to knowledge in event studies by introducing concepts of “elite event interviewing” and the “athlete-event paradox”.

To explore the discursive construction of disordered eating and athlete identity meanings within elite female athlete’s stories. Published athlete autobiographies were interrogated as cultural sites of analysis to accomplish this aim.

A critical social constructionist perspective on disordered eating is outlined along with narrative research findings on female athletes and disordered eating. A discursive psychological approach and critical discourse analysis (CDA) is then discussed to theorize and study meanings of disordered eating and athlete identities/subject positions. Next, the utility of studying two elite female athlete’s autobiographies is outlined followed by examples from a CDA of two athlete stories.

Two discourses and two identity/subject positions within each are outlined: discourse of performance and the “committed, controlled athlete” and a discourse of personal growth and the “empowered athlete in transition.” The features of each discourse and subject position are outlined and examples from each athlete’s story. The intention is to show the ways in which discursive resources construct the body, food and identities in sport and the implications.

The chapter is concluded with why studying “disordered eating and body talk” within discourses is useful to expand understanding of constraining and emancipative aspects of athlete identities, struggle and recovery.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the extended brand identities of two elite female athletes. Specifically, this exploratory case study assessed the extended brand identities of Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman, two iconic female softball athlete brands.

Through the qualitative analysis of individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews, various documents, and social media, data revealed themes associated with positioning, personality, and presentation of the female athlete brands.

Theoretically, the themes provide empirical support for existing brand identity frameworks.

Practically, findings provide evidence for defining an athlete’s extended brand identity that can serve as the foundation for branding efforts that generate long-term value during and after their sport careers.

This case study adds to the extant literature on athlete branding and offers practical content for marketers seeking to brand female athletes.

Social media provides a space for female athletes to create their own media (and advertising) in order to share their lives through stories presented online – a phenomenon, that to date has been ignored in traditional media spaces. Research suggests that athletes more broadly can take a more active role in their public presentation across a wide variety of platforms (Lebel & Danylchuk, 2012) and share more aspects of their identity than typically portrayed in mainstream media coverage (Sanderson, 2013, 2014). More specifically, virtual worlds have created platforms through which female athletes can share content and present themselves to fans or followers of sport in their own way and with relative freedom (Litchfield & Kavanagh, 2018). While it is acknowledged that social media can empower the female user, simultaneously, these spaces have proven to be hostile and can serve to oppress or marginalise individuals and groups (Kavanagh et al., 2016; Litchfield et al., 2018). An intersectional, third-wave feminist lens will be adopted in this chapter in order to examine such a dichotomy (Bruce, 2016). This approach will analyse the disjunction between the rise of the female ‘@thlete’ and their adoption of contemporary digital sporting spaces and the presence of a darker narrative permeating digital environments through highlighting the presence of online vitriol and intersectional abuse (racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.) that athletes may face while navigating lives online.

The purpose of this paper is to make an assessment of energy and nutrients intake of elite female athletes and identify potential differences according to body fat (BF).

The sample consists of 69 top female athletes, members of the Greek Olympic National Teams of Volleyball (14 athletes), Basketball (16 athletes), Handball (17 athletes) and Football (22 athletes), aged 25.42 + 3.86 years. The participants undergo anthropometric examinations and the body fat percentage (%BF) is calculated. The sample is divided into two subgroups based on the mean %BF value (35 athletes with %BF ≥ 17 and 34 athletes with %BF < 17). In addition, a three‐day dietary intake record is taken.

The athletes' body mass index is 22.00 ± 1.75 and %BF is 16.94 ± 3.26. Athletes with %BF ≥ 17 present significantly higher energy intake (1,696 ± 578 kcal) than athletes with %BF < 17 (1,397 ± 379 kcal), p < 0.05. There is a significant positive correlation between %BF and energy intake of the athletes, (r = 0.300, p < 0.05). The athletes with %BF ≥ 17 receive significantly higher amounts of protein and fat in comparison with athletes with %BF < 17. This can be attributed to the fact that these athletes consume more meat and fat group equivalents than athletes with lower fat levels. Athletes with higher BF levels present higher values in vitamins A, B1, B12, folic acid and minerals P and Mn, p < 0.05, compared to the other athletes.

The observed deficiencies in energy and macro‐ and micro‐nutrients, have to be corrected as they represent a barrier for the elite female team‐sport athletes to maintain health and achieve their sport‐related nutrition and competition goals.

In recent years debate has intensified over the inclusion of transgender athletes in athletic competition at all levels and across sports. Debate has emphasized trade-offs between safety, fairness and inclusion. In some settings the issue moves from sport governance to political debate and even legislation. On social media, discussion is vigorous and sometimes vitriolic. The intensity of the debate and politics can make it difficult to make sense of the regulatory and policy issues at stake. This chapter focuses on Olympic sport and argues that transgender athletes represent the latest battleground over inclusion in sport, which has in the past focused variously on female, black and disabled athletes. The long arc of history in sport and in the societies that sport is a part of has generally trended towards ever-greater inclusivity, though not without overcoming significant opposition and while recognizing that full inclusion of all people in sport is far from being realized. In the context of these broad societal trends, I make a case against the exclusion of transgender women athletes from elite women's sport and for their inclusion. Experience in law, policy, regulation and science in other contexts where fairness and inclusion are in conflict provide guidance. Ultimately, I argue for a pragmatic approach to inclusion consistent with consensus science and reflective of broadly shared values in sport and society Under such an approach, sport can demonstrate to the rest of society how to successfully grapple with a challenging issue, rather than serving as a political battleground.

This chapter shows how professional athlete-motherhood is presented by the mainstream media and challenged by self-representation on social media, using arguably one of the most successful professional athletes of all time, Serena Williams, as a case study. We suggest that Williams' use of social media has allowed motherhood to be a part of her entrepreneurial self, accessing sponsorship and endorsements while also normalising struggles and using her platform to raise awareness of what it means to be a ‘working mother’. In comparison, mainstream media presents athlete-motherhood as either the athlete-mother as a transgressor or as the ‘super mum’, a theme where the athlete manages the demands of motherhood with sport and does it all ‘perfectly’. While mainstream media may present these two tensions and speculate on what women's bodies should be able to do, Williams reminds us through her social media that her professional status does not disappear, she is not ‘coming back’ from becoming a mother, it's a part of who she is, thus, showing that motherhood can be part of being a professional athlete and can be celebrated via online self-presentations. We conclude with a call for future work to explore the understanding of the pregnant athlete beyond a case study of a global celebrity athlete to look at the experiences of athlete-mother at other levels of sport and society.