Sky Sports talk to Ramla Ali, Mary Cholhok, Charlotte Edwards, Heather Fisher, Catriona Matthew and Kelly Smith; watch episodes on Sky Sports Mix or On Demand
Friday 8 March 2019 18:16, UK
Sky Sports' groundbreaking 'My Icon' series returns for International Women's Day, with six female athletes opening up on their journeys and their inspirations.
Launched during Black History Month in October 2017, Sky Sports' first instalment of 'My Icon' produced over 30 short films featuring black, Asian and minority ethnic people across sport talking about their pathways and those who helped to guide them.
That was followed in November 2017 by another series to coincide with the award-winning Rainbow Laces campaign, bringing LGBT stories from across the world of sport firmly into focus.
In September 2018, My Icon returned for National Inclusion Week, shining a light on some of Britain's most successful and inspirational Para-Athletes.
Now, to mark International Women's Day, our latest series focuses on six remarkable female athletes and their sporting careers. Each episode is available to watch now On Demand.
Women's football has never been more popular in this country but former Arsenal and England striker Kelly Smith was a trailblazer for female footballers at a time when the sport struggled for headlines.
Smith's career was not without its difficulties and in the first of our six episodes, she tells her story on how she impressed at a young age before heading across to the USA for life as a professional, dealing with the demons that plagued her along the way.
Inspired by Peace Proscovia and standing 6ft 7in, 21-year-old Uganda netball star Mary Cholhok is currently making her mark on the Vitality Superleague as a shooter for Loughborough Lightning, but has already had quite a journey.
Cholhok discusses sport in Africa for women, how she stumbled into netball, coped with becoming a mother as a teenager, and how that has shaped her life since.
Eleven weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Catriona Matthew became the first female Scottish golfer to win a major when she lifted the 2009 Women's Open at Royal Lytham.
As she prepares to captain Europe at the Solheim Cup later this year, she reflects on a lifetime consumed by the sport and its impact on her.
Former England captain Charlotte Edwards retired in 2016 after reaching the pinnacle of the sport. The national team claimed continual success under her stewardship, and she was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 2014.
Her talents took her to Australia and the Big Bash League, as well as leading the way for the growth of domestic cricket in the UK. Her remarkable career spans 20 years and has had plenty of twists and turns, as she tells My Icon.
Ali's remarkable journey saw her move to England as a war refugee and having taken up boxing, success has followed her ever since, culminating in her representing Somalia at the 2018 Women's World Championships.
More than that, Ali has broken down many of the barriers she faced as a Muslim woman, both from her own family and beyond and she is now embracing her status as one of the faces of the sport.
Fisher has not had it all her own way, but she would not want it any different, making her mark in rugby union and starring for her country on the Sevens circuit as well as in the 15-a-side version of the game after a promising junior career... in bobsledding.
The World Cup winner opens up on World Cups and Olympic Games and what has driven her to become the player and women she is today, and how she overcame whatever stood in her way.
Don't miss the My Icon Sportswomen special, with episodes showing on Sky Sports Mix. The whole series is also available On Demand, along with all episodes from previous series.
