Following an "invisible summer" caused by the coronavirus pandemic, elite women`s sport is finally returning - in many sports long after men resumed playing. Along with her colleague, international athlete Jess Piasecki, and journalist, Lucy Lomax, author decided to study the experiences of elite sportswomen during the COVID-19 lockdown. For that, they collected responses from 95 different sportswomen aged 18-34 across a range of sports. 57% of the women received some form of financial reimbursement for their involvement in sport. 65% said their funding, sponsorship or salary had been affected. Concerning home-based training brought difficulties for the women we surveyed: 76% said their training volumes had decreased and 94% reported difficulties in accessing fitness equipment to maintain conditioning. While it is impossible for the autors to know the long-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on sport, their research shows the impact has been more significant for women. The snapshot we have taken of sportswomen`s experiences has revealed yet another gendered impact of the coronavirus crisis. But also shows that the pandemic has merely exaggerated the gender inequalities that already existed in elite sports culture.
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