Page 25 - BusinessWest August 18, 2025

The Other Side of Victory
Applying Business Lessons from Women in Sports
BY MIA MCDONALD
One of the most transformative quotes that has inspired my life over the
past year is from Ilona Maher. The U.S. women’s rugby player shot to fame
when she helped lead her team to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olym-
pics — the first time an American team has ever taken home a medal in this event.
Following this feat, she was asked in an interview about her experience with
impostor syndrome. Confidently and without hesitation, she declared, “I don’t
have that” because “it’s OK to be proud of what you’ve done. It’s OK to believe you
deserve something because you’ve put in the work for it.”
This is a concept more women should feel empowered and energized by. Being
confident and unapologetically sharing your confidence — and your passion — will
only work to inspire and lift others up around you. Empowered women empower
women.
Ilona is only one of the many current voices in women’s sports in whom I have
found inspiration, and whose exemplary leadership has helped guide me to where
I am today in my professional career. Another one of the most powerful moments
came just weeks ago, when Faith Kipyegon became the first woman to attempt
running under four minutes in the mile. This experiment is incredibly significant
to the athletics and running community, because while thousands of men have
achieved this feat, it is one that no woman has ever accomplished.
Faith, the world record holder in this distance, embraced the challenge head-
on with the full support of her sponsor, Nike, and their innovative teams and tech-
nology, which sought to optimize the perfect conditions and variables to best set
her up for success. Following this attempt, as a fan of the sport and as a woman,
was incredibly motivating and exciting and came with major takeaways that can
be applied to women in the workplace. Here are four of them.
“Being confident and unapologetically
sharing your confidence — and your
passion — will only work to inspire and
lift others up around you. Empowered
women empower women.”
Find a Team and Trust in Them
To break a barrier as significant as Faith set out to do, alone, would be impos-
sible. Faith had a team on the track — 13 world-class pacers who were all also
Olympians and champions in their own right. They were organized in a meticu-
lous formation to minimize draft and pull her along to her goal time.
There was something incredibly emotional and empowering about watching all
of these men and women come together and be unified in the support of Faith and
her goal. In addition to this direct support on the track, Faith had a stadium full of
fans cheering her on in person, and countless others across the world.
The same concept is applicable to the professional environment. Especially
when first entering the field, it can be intimidating as a woman to speak up in a
room that is often full of men. There is
also so much to balance throughout the
day, be it work-related goals and obliga-
Lessons
Continued on page 27 >>
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