Earlier this week, espnW unveiled its 2015 IMPACT25 list, “a who’s who of 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact for women in sports” on the field and in the boardroom this year. To pay tribute to all of the super stars in this illustrious group and celebrate their heroic feats and seemingly superhuman achievements, espnW recruited a collection of Marvel Comics artists to create super hero versions of each woman… rendering a most awesome #SUPERSQUAD of role models.
espnW says it determined the 25 most impactful figures of 2015 by surveying “a panel of sports experts and luminaries, including women’s sports influencers, former players and ESPN’s own editors and executives on the 2015 sports landscape and divided the standout individuals into two categories, Athletes and Influencers.” They include…
Athletes: Simone Biles, Tamika Catchings, Lauren Chamberlain, Elena Delle Donne, Erica Enders, Chloe Kim, Lydia Ko, Katie Ledecky, Carli Lloyd, Olivia Quigley, Ronda Rousey, Breanna Stewart, and Serena Williams
Influencers: Misty Copeland, Lauren Greenfield, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Claire McCaskill, Becky Hammon, Loretta E. Lynch, Simone Manuel, Jessica Mendoza, Dani Rylan, Diana Taurasi, Sarah Thomas, U.S. Women’s National Team, and Jen Welter
The espnW Woman of the Year will be chosen by the honorees themselves and announced at the inaugural IMPACT25 Gala on Thursday, February 25, in New York.
On the chance that you don’t know some of the IMPACT25 honorees, espnW is offering a comprehensive look at each of these extraordinary women here, and they’ve got a dedicated site showcasing all 25 of the Marvel Comics illustrations. See a few of our favorites below.
Jen Welter
“A veteran of several women’s professional and semi-professional football teams, Welter became the first woman to coach in the NFL as an Arizona Cardinals preseason coaching intern.”
Serena Williams
“The sports icon is the most dominant tennis player today: Williams was 53-3 in matches this year, and she is the only player to rank in the WTA top 10 in wins on clay, grass, and hard courts.”
Ronda Rousey
“A true cultural phenom, Rousey’s one loss doesn’t diminish her insane accomplishments. She made UFC history in February with a 14-second takedown of Cat Zingano, and handily beat Bethe Correia in August.”
Olivia Quigley
“The 24-year old sprinter from Wisconsin has stage-4 breast cancer, but put off chemotherapy to compete at the Special Olympics World Games, where she won gold in the 100 meters”
Loretta Lynch
“Just three weeks into her post as a U.S. Attorney General, Lynch led the charge in the FIFA corruption investigations, announcing indictments of 14 top FIFA officials and the unsealing of a $150 million case full of bribery, fraud and money laundering.”
Lydia Ko
Ko climbed to No. 1 in the LGPA rankings at the age of 17 (breaking Tiger Wood’s record by almost 4 years) and became the youngest golfer to win a major.”
Misty Copeland
“In June, the American Ballet Theatre promoted Copeland to principal dancer, making her the first African-American woman to hold the title in the company’s 75-year history.”
Chloe Kim
“At the ripe old age of 14, the snowboarder rode her way into X Games history, nabbing gold in the superpipe, and, in doing so, becoming the youngest gold medalist in a winter event.”
Tamika Catchings
“The 14-year WNBA veteran and 10-time All-Star led the Indiana Fever to the WNBA Finals, where she became the first player in WNBA history to score 1,000 career playoff points.”
