7 Women Who Inspire, 2020

1.     

Emily Harrington, 34 is a professional rock climber who on November 4, decided to free climb Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, a 3,000 ft climb. Free climbing means that while she did have gear with her, it was only used in case of an emergency. She is the first women to do it in under 24 hours, a feat that has only been accomplished by three other male athletes in the world.

 “Impossible dreams challenge us to rise above who we are now to see if we can become better versions of ourselves.”

2.     

Maya Gabeira, 33, is a  Brazilian Surfer. in 2013 Maya was surfing a 20-m high wave when it crashed on her, ripping her life jacket off, breaking a leg and rendering her unconscious.

"I just thought: 'That's it, I am going to die,'"

The rescue took 10 minutes and she had to be revived with CPR once reaching shore. However, seven years after nearly drowning Maya got back on the water setting the world record for largest wave ever surfed by a woman. Not only did she set the record once but twice, and in 2020 she even rode the biggest wave that anyone had surfed this year.

"I had to decide if I was going to try to keep surfing or if it was better to retire. But I wasn't ready to give it up."

3.     

Female team of 4 row across the ocean. Kevinia Francis, Samara Emmanuel, Christal Clashing and Elvira Bell are the first all-black women’s team to compete in the The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, also known as “the world’s toughest row”. They spent 47 days, 8 hours and 25 minutes rowing 3,000 nautical miles.

 “We knew this was highly symbolic before we left. We were going to voluntarily traverse the waters across which our ancestors were forcibly and brutally taken as slaves. It was an act of symbolic empowerment for us and our community at home and at large.” 

4.

Emily Halnon, 35, set the speed record for the Pacific Crest Trail in August. Completing the 455 mile trail in 7 days, 19 hours and 23 minutes. This is the fastest any man or women has previously done. Emily chose to do this run in honor of her mother who had passed earlier in the year.  It was Emily’s mother that got her into running, they ran their first marathon together, and her mother continued to be her support in future runs including five 100-mile ultramarathons.

“It was a celebration of my mom — she was my fuel. There have been days when the grief is crushing. Channeling myself into this, into something that would make her proud and that felt like it mattered, was my way of working through it.”

5.     

Sophie Matterson, 31, had chosen to leave a career in the TV and film industry in order to work with Camels in Australia. She is now trekking 5,000 km alone across the continent with five wild camels that she had caught and trained.

“What I wasn’t anticipating was how much I would end up falling in love with these animals. What was only going to be a six-month break from my ‘real job’ turned into five years of chasing camels around Australia and other parts of the world.”

6.     

Cristina Zenato, a professional diver has been working with sharks for the last 25 years. She spends her time diving with sharks and also educating others about them. She has recently become known as the shark whisperer. Whenever she spots a shark with a hook stuck to them she does whatever she can to remove it, removing over 300 hooks so far.

“It shows the impact that not only we have on the ocean and its creatures in a small place, but it also shows how one person can make a difference with the decision to use personal talents, determination, and consistency,”

7.     

Brittney Woodrum, 27, decided to become an ambassador for Shelter Box, an international disaster relief organization, when travel plans got cancelled.  Her goal for fundraising was to climb the Fourteeners-58 mountain peaks in Colorado with elevations of 14,000 ft or higher. For 2 months she climbed a mountain a day, with only one rest day per week, raising $85,000 for non-profits.

 “I was thinking there had to be something I can do to raise awareness and make a big, positive impact with the least amount of negative impact. It seems fitting that I should go out and find some physical mountains to climb as we as a global community are coming together to overcome this metaphorical mountain that is COVID-19.”

By: Bethany Paquette