“Novig is just sports. No death. No politics. Just sports.”
Sydney Sweeney has once again stirred controversy by starring in a new ad campaign for Novig, a sports prediction market. Prediction markets are fundamentally a cynical business, yet Sweeney appears in the campaign wearing little more than a baseball bat and posing with various sports equipment, including tennis rackets and footballs. While her provocative role has sparked viral outrage across social media, it will undoubtedly prove effective for the prediction markers eager to attract a demographic of young men.
Sport stands as one of the most powerful platforms for women’s rights and gender equality, being professionalized at a rapid pace. Ratings, viewership, and attendance are increasing faster globally than anything we’ve previously seen. Leagues are expanding and revenue has grown 4.5 times faster than men's sports revenue. Female athletes now have real power and influence.
But for all that progress, there are still authority figures and fans who would prefer that sports looked how they did back when they were kids, with many treating women’s sports less seriously than men’s. Female athletes continue to struggle with barriers that hinder their ability to establish identities and gain recognition within the athletic world.
“Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is - teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity… the list goes on.” Olympic swimmer and four-time gold medalist Ariarne Titmus’ response to the Novig advert, being one of the many professional athletes who have shown disappointment and anger towards the regressive campaign.
“How do we live in a world where monetising a women’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?” she wrote on Instagram.
Rather than challenging stereotypes surrounding women in sport, the advertisement reinforces the very attitudes that generations of female athletes have worked to overcome. The ad connects a sports brand with imagery that focuses heavily on a woman’s physical appearance rather than athletic ability. By placing unnecessary emphasis on sexualized imagery, the campaign reduces women to their appearance rather than celebrating their strength, talent, and accomplishments as athletes, and overall, making a mockery of women’s sports.
“She’s not a professional athlete, but she functions to remind us that plenty of people want us to believe the best woman in sports is the one who appeals to men” says Jane McManus of The Guardian.
Think you know sports? Prove it.
Women have achieved historic milestones in sports, from breaking gender barriers to setting global records.
1. Getrude Ederle
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle, an Olympic gold medalist, became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1925, she returned to France, determined to try again. On August 6, she completed the crossing in just 14 hours and 31 minutes, setting a new record at only nineteen years old. Her time was nearly two hours faster than the existing men’s record. Now she is known as “Queen of the Waves”, among many other nicknames.
Ederle’s English Channel swim was a monumental achievement that significantly impacted women’s sports and societal perceptions. By becoming the first woman to conquer the Channel, Ederle shattered prevailing doubts about female athletic capabilities. While she achieved this remarkable feat, her hearing was permanently impaired. Thus, following her competitive career, Ederle became a swimming instructor for deaf children.
Ederle’s achievements extended beyond her historic English Channel swim. Between 1921 and 1925, she held 29 national and world amateur swimming records, demonstrating her dominance in the sport. At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, Gertrude Ederle was a member of the US team that won a gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. She also captured bronze medals in the 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle events.
2. Simone Biles
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time, with 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals. Biles broke into elite competition in 2011. Her performances were known for incredible difficulty, consistency, and her joyful personality.
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Biles achieved a remarkable feat by winning four gold medals and one bronze. She is the fifth female gymnast to win four golds at a single Games. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Biles bravely withdrew from several events to focus on her mental health, bringing important attention to the pressures athletes face. She later returned to win a bronze medal on the balance beam. Beyond the competitions, Simon Biles is also an advocate for abuse survivors and mental health awareness. She serves as an ambassador for the Friends of the Children community organization. In 2022, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Simone Biles has revolutionized artistic gymnastics with her incredible skill and the sheer difficulty of her routines. She even has introduced several new skills that are now named after her, “Biles II” is the official name of her historic Yurchenko double pike vault.
3. Eileen Gu
Eileen Gu is a highly accomplished Chinese American freestyle skier. Her achievements are marked by her exceptional performance and groundbreaking achievements in the Olympic Games. At 18, she became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing and the first to win three medals in a single Winter Games.
At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Eileen Gu secured two gold medals in the half-pipe and Big Air events, along with a silver in slopestyle. She continued her success at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, earning a gold medal and silver medals in both slopestyle and Big Air. Gu has also excelled in other competitions, including winning the FIS World Cup in 2019 and continuing to dominate the half-pipe event in World Cup seasons.
Eileen Gu has expressed a desire to inspire young women in China and promote winter sports, aiming to foster communication and friendship between nations through skiing. Beyond her athletic career, Gu is also a successful fashion model and began her undergraduate studies at Stanford University, later also studying at Oxford University.
4. Karolina Urbanova
Karolina Urbanova is recognized as one of the most dominant competitors in modern wood-chopping history, through a breathtaking series of record-shattering performances. Growing up in a small Czech village where lumberjack sports were virtually nonexistent, she was talent-spotted as a teenager alongside her mother and sister. Together, they began practicing in a village barn using axes provided by a neighbor. Today, she is an elite athlete on the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Pro Circuit and a multi-time European Champion
In July 2026, Karolina Urbanova broke two world records on the exact same day. Her historic run reached its peak when she claimed the individual Silver Medal at the first-ever STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Women’s World Championship in Budapest and set a world record in the Standing Block Chop. Just a month later, Urbanova broke two world records on the exact same day at the prestigious Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin.
For decades, women’s events in lumberjack competitions were limited primarily to logrolling. Urbanova represents a new generation of elite female athletes commanding global attention in high-powered and extreme wood-chopping disciplines that demand immense upper body strength and precise axe technique.
Yes, women do know sports.
Female athletes have always been profoundly more than their bodies. They are defined by their strength, tactical intelligence, and years of disciplined sacrifice. To answer the question: Yes, we do know sports. And we prove it by honoring the women who sweat, bleed, and win on their own merit.
Sources
- “BBC Audio.” BBC, https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct992h.
- “Sydney Sweeney Prediction Ad Sports.” The Guardian, 14 Sept. 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/sep/14/sydney-sweeney-prediction-ad-sports.
- “Sydney Sweeney Sports Ad Women Controversy.” TODAY.com, https://www.today.com/health/news/sydney-sweeney-sports-ad-women-controversy-rcna597655.
- “Gertrude Ederle.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gertrude-Ederle#ref1.
- “Simone Biles.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simone-Biles#ref481633.
- “Eileen Gu: Meet the Athlete.” NBC Olympics, https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/eileen-gu-meet-athlete.
- “Dear Sidney.” Coach Care Create, https://www.coachcarecreate.com/p/dear-sidney.