The Sports Bra opens in Portland, centers women’s sports

By Tai Owen ’24

Staff Writer

The Sports Bra opened its doors on April 1, 2022, the 50th anniversary year of Title IX. Located in Portland, Oregon, the bar challenges tradition with its dedication to solely streaming and supporting women’s sports. According to Oregon Live, founder and Portland native Jenny Nguyen believes the Sports Bra might be the first bar in the world to be focused only on women’s sports.

Oregon Live reported that Nguyen had the idea for The Sports Bra after watching a women’s basketball championship game on a tiny TV with no sound in a sports bar.

“It was Notre Dame against Mississippi State [in the 2018 NCAA women’s finals]. And Notre Dame was down by like 23 or something, came back from behind, and Arike hit a last-second three-pointer. And we just lost it in this bar. It was incredible,” Nguyen said in an interview with Shireen Ahmed for the podcast Burn It All Down.

According to the bar’s Instagram page, Nguyen listed The Sports Bra as a Kickstarter project on Feb. 14, 2022 after being denied funding from several financial institutions and rejected for two types of small business. Ultimately, the Kickstarter generated $105,135 in donations from 635 people, exceeding the $48,000 that Nguyen calculated needing. 

According to the Kickstarter, Nguyen was an avid basketball player growing up and saw her calling for uplifting women’s sports. 

According to The Sports Bra’s website, to get the name of the bar, Nguyen “ took your regular sports bar, switched around the two letters and got The Sports Bra.”

After searching for locations that would serve the community well, and decorating the bar with women’s sports memorabilia, Nguyen opened her establishment to the public. According to Portland Monthly, the opening was a big success, with people lining up outside to get in.

The Sports Bra will be an official Portland Thorns viewing location, but it plays everything from women’s collegiate level sports to Women’s National Basketball Association games to professional soccer games to gymnastics. When women’s games are not playing, the Sports Bra remains dedicated to its goal of putting women at the forefront by playing podcasts, interviews and documentaries about women’s sports and players, according to its website.

The Sports Bra’s website stated that, in addition to prioritizing women’s sports, the bar uses the women-owned Freeland Spirits for its signature cocktails. Women-owned vineyards and breweries are also featured, furthering the bar’s commitment to “support, promote and invest in the women who are changing the game.” 

Inclusivity is a pillar of the Sports Bra’s guiding ideology. Accordingly, minors are welcome in the bar to allow parents and/or guardians the flexibility of bringing children to enjoy the games and expose them to women’s sports in a community setting. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten and dairy-free folks are also welcome, as the bar features an array of foods accommodating dietary restrictions.

“Our mission [is] to … provide a space that supports, empowers, and promotes girls and women in sports and in the community,” The Sports Bra’s website states. Fostering a culture of appreciation using women’s sports as a vessel for community building is critical to the bar’s staff and broadening base of supporters. According to Portland Monthly, televised sports coverage is overwhelmingly dominated by men’s games, with women’s sports — if played at all — saddled to a secondary status. The Sports Bra aims to fundamentally change that dynamic. By placing women at the forefront, the bar challenges the status quo of sports bars and sports consumption in public settings. According to The Sports Bra website, Nguyen believed tackling representation in sports by utilizing the traditional venue of a sports bar is a simple and effective way to challenge the lack of representation in sports broadcasting.

With community, representation and investment in women’s sports as the bar’s main priorities, Nguyen hopes The Sports Bra is the first step in a movement for better representation and investment in women’s sports and viewership. With women’s sports only constituting four percent of broadcasting, as reported by Portland Monthly, the Sports Bra is a venue for balancing out the discrepancy in accessibility to viewing women’s sports.

The bar’s website states, “The Sports Bra is not a sports bar for women, but a bar for women’s sports.” While the bar’s identity is grounded in its dedication to showcasing women’s sports, the Sports Bra’s true priority is simply creating a venue for people to view women’s sports the same way they view men’s sports.

Boston Marathon celebrates 50th anniversary of women’s official participation

By Emily Tarinelli ’25

Sports Editor

After two years of postponements, cancellations and virtual participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 126th Boston Marathon returned to its regular Patriot’s Day schedule on April 18, 2022. The race — which, according to the Associated Press, consisted of over 28,000 runners — celebrated more than just a return to normalcy. The race also marked the 50th anniversary of women’s official participation in the event.

This year’s winner of the women’s division was 28-year-old Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, the Associated Press reported. The victory came down to the last 385 yards, where Jepchirchir pulled ahead of Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh, according to ESPN. The pair remained neck-and-neck throughout the race, stealing the lead from each other eight times in the last mile, AP News said. Jepchirchir finished four seconds ahead of Yeshaneh with a time of 2:21:01 hours.

“I was feeling she was strong. I pushed it,” Jepchirchir told the Associated Press. “I fell behind. But I didn’t lose hope.”

According to the Daily Free Press, Switzerland’s Manuela Schar won the women’s wheelchair race in 1:41:08 hours.

As reported by The Guardian, women were barred from competing in the Boston Marathon until 1972. While this year’s race marked the 50th anniversary of Nina Kuscsik’s win in the first official women’s division, women began running in the marathon unofficially in 1966. This period — between 1966 and 1972 — was initially branded as the Boston Marathon’s “Unofficial Era,” but is now widely called the “Pioneer Era.”

According to the Associated Press, Bobbi Gibb is recognized as the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon. Gibb participated in 1966 as a “bandit,” a term given to unregistered runners.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer officially registered for the race as “KV Switzer.” For some time, she was not given trouble because the sign-up form did not inquire about gender, according to The Guardian. However, when Jock Semple, the race director, saw her on the course, he attempted to physically push her off the road.

At long last, in 1972, eight women lined up beside the male competitors as the first official female runners in the marathon, WBUR reported.

This year, over 12,000 women entered the race. The lineup was particularly strong: Jepchirchir, who is an Olympic gold medalist, competed against Joyciline Jepkosgei and Degitu Azimeraw, who all brought “personal bests under [two] hours, 18 minutes — two minutes faster than the Boston course record,” according to WBUR.

“Oh, my God. It’s so cool. I mean, like, that fires me up so much, just knowing the high level of competition we’re going to have here,” Molly Seidel, an Olympic bronze medalist, told WBUR. “It’s always fun to get to the race and just know that you’re up against the best in the world.”

Game of the Week: Track and Field finishes regular season

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Athletics.
Abby Elliott ’25 focuses while doing the javelin throw at the Jerry Gravel Invitational on April 16.

By Gigi Picard ’22

Sports Editor

Mount Holyoke Track and Field finished their regular season at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sean Collier Invitational on Saturday, April 23. 

Emma Doyle ’23 placed 12th in the discus throw with a season best of 31.07 meters. Doyle’s throw was the eighth best in Mount Holyoke Track and Field history. In the shot put, Doyle set a personal best at a 10.75 meter mark, landing eighth place overall with a sixth-place ranking in the Mount Holyoke program’s history.

On the javelin front, Allyson Joseph ’24 finished 13th at 22.78 meters, while Abby Elliott ’25 placed 20th at 16.48 meters.

“I felt pretty good about my performance and did much better than I expected,” Elliott said. “I think the team's attitude right now is very determined on giving it our all. I think a lot of us really are proud of ourselves and our performance in our last meet.”

On the track, Emily Hood ’24’s 3000-meter steeplechase landed her in third place with a time of 12:40.57 minutes. Hood’s finish was the seventh-fastest time for the event in the team’s history.

Tessa Lancaster ’25 finished fourth in the 1500-meter run, posting a time of 4:56.41 minutes, which is the eighth-fastest time in Mount Holyoke’s history. Sydney Nash ’22 earned a season best, finishing seventh in 5:12.25 minutes. 

In the 400-meter dash, Simone Jacob ’22 placed eighth, claiming a personal best and the sixth-fastest program time with 1:01.72 minutes. 

“Coming off of a [personal record] this week is a great way to go into our championship meet feeling confident but also rested,” Jacob said. “We are super excited to go into the championship season and put all of our hard work over the last months towards showing the other schools in the [New England Women’s and Men’s Conference] what we can do as a team.”

Leah Pendl-Robinson ’22 earned a top-20 time in the 100-meter dash, running the event in 14.61 seconds after missing most of the track and field season due to an injury. 

“I felt a bit bummed about the season since I was out of commission for most of it, but now that I have been back for a couple of meets and weeks of practice I feel like I have a spark again inside me ready to compete,” Pendl-Robinson said. “I’m extra excited for what’s to come.”

“It is also my senior year and now that it is coming to a close I realize how much I will miss competing with the team and having those early morning practices with all my friends,” Pendl-Robinson continued. “I just want to thank everyone who has helped me along my recovery journey for my injury and … helped me to come back in the last few meets of my [undergraduate] athletic career.”

Lauren Selkin ’23 ran the 800-meter race and placed fourth with a time of 2:24.99 minutes. Despite it not being her usual event, her time is the ninth fastest in Mount Holyoke Track and Field history.

“I’m more of a distance runner, but it was fun to run and [root] my teammates on. I’m looking forward to the upcoming championship season. … I’m super excited to be part of the intense competition,” Selkin said.

Addison Heintz ’25 finished 12th in the 200-meter dash with a season-best time of 27.93 seconds. 

“I am feeling good about my performance so far this season. … The season has been rewarding, it has been great to look back and see how much I improved and how much the team has improved as well,” Heintz said.

Track and Field finished the invite with the 4x400 meter relay run, where Kim Beaver ’25, Greta Trapp ’25, Jacob and Lancaster came in second place. With a time of 4:17.99 minutes, the relay team ran the eighth-fastest time in the program’s history.

“I am happy with the overall team performance from this past weekend. There were numerous [personal records] and season bests,” Track and Field’s Assistant Coach Alex Rachmaciej said. 

On Saturday, April 30, the Lyons will travel to Smith College for the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference championship meet. 

“Prep for championships looks like more rest for the athletes. This part of the season, we keep the intensity high and volume low so the athletes feel good going into the meets,” Rachmaciej stated. 

The official season end for Track and Field will be the three-day NCAA Division III Championships in Geneva, Ohio from May 26-28.

Rachmaciej said that, “Takeaways we had for the season are that some of the areas that we lacked in the past are turning around and the team is becoming more well-rounded.”