10 Biggest Plays for Women in Sports in 2014

From the Winter Olympics to the WNBA, 2014 was an exciting year for ladies in sports. SheWired counts down our Top 10 moments of the year.         

Out speedskater from the Netherlands, Irene Wust  and her teammates.

10. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi

The International Olympic Committee’s decision to name Sochi, Russia the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympics was a controversial one, and one that brought Russia’s draconian anti-LGBT legislation to the forefront. Protests were planned to combat the Russian propaganda, while other LGBT athletes and fans feared for their safety entering the Games. The Games went off relatively without incident, but the international outcry from the gay community and allies inevitably influenced some staunch legislation changes by the IOC.

9. Brittney Griner stabbed 
This fall, after practice for her Chinese Basketball Association team, Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was attacked and stabbed on her team bus by a knife-wielding attacker. She sustained minor injuries thanks to the fact that she was wearing multiple layers at the time of the attack. It was a minor hiccup in an otherwise fabulous year for Griner. The WNBA’s leading blocker helped the Mercury win a WNBA Championship, and earlier this summer, she proposed to girlfriend and fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson.

8. US Women’s Soccer Team Wins CONCACAF Championship
Abby Wambach scored four goals in the United States’ annihilation of Costa Rica to win their fifth CONCACAF Women’s Championship Title. The World Cup-bound Americans won 6-0, and Wambach earned her 18^th goal in World Cup Qualifiers, making her the highest scoring US woman of all time. Michelle Akers previously held the record at 17.

7. LLWS Pitcher Mo’Ne Davis makes SI Cover
Little League World Series pitcher Mo’Ne Davis became the first Little Leaguer to appear on the cover ofSports Illustrated this summer, after logging eight strikeouts and a shut-out in the LLWS. She is only the 18^th girl to have ever played in the LLWS, and the first girl to throw a shut-out. The multi-talented ace aspires to one day attend and play basketball at the University of Connecticut.

6. Weir and Lipinsky Take Over Figure Skating Coverage

After an acclaimed stint as the figure skating commentators for the Sochi Winter Olympics, NBC named former Olympians Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinsky the new faces of NBC skating commentary. The duo’s commentary work, chemistry, and respective style were on point in Sochi – matching pink blazers anyone?

5. WNBA debuts WNBA Pride
In conjunction with Pride month in June, the WNBA debuted WNBA Pride, an LGBT equality program and the first one of its kind in major professional American sports. The WNBA also became the first league to launch a dedicated website highlighting league-wide LGBT issues, and many teams and players – including out lesbian Brittney Griner – participated in Pride events across the country.

4. IOC revamps nondiscrimination policy
After the controversial decision to hold the 2014 Olympic Games in Russia, a nation with strong anti-LGBT legislation still on the books, the International Olympic Committee voted to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination clause. The move was a strong motion of support for LGBT athletes and fans hoping to safely attend the Olympic Games in the future.

3. Brittney Griner Named Defensive Player of the Year
WNBA all-star Brittney Griner had a record-setting season in 2014, which culminated in a Defensive Player of the Year win. Griner received a convincing 31 votes from a national panel of 38 sportswriters and broadcasters – not to mention, she got engaged to fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson that same month.

2. Becky Hammon gets Coaching Job With Spurs
Becky Hammon – best known as the WNBA superstar who once played basketball for the Russian Olympic Team – shattered the glass ceiling this year when she was named an assistant coach of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. The appointment makes Hammon the first full-time female assistant coach in the League.

1. Martina Navratilova Gets Married
This December, Grand Slam Champion Martina Navratilova wed her longtime girlfriend, former model Julie Lemigova, in New York. Navratilova proposed earlier this year at the U.S. Open. Lemigova told the BBC, "By proposing and marrying in such a public way, I think -- I hope -- will give an inspiration to the families set up like ours, that they, too, can be married legally one day."