Happy International Women's Day!

It’s International Women’s Day and to mark the occasion we are celebrating some of our female VIS athletes, coaches and administrators that smashed the glass ceiling over the past year.

An Olympic year created plenty of opportunities for success from gold medal victories to world records and making "herstory" happen.

VIS athletes, coaches and administrators are truly paving the way in elite sports.

Nicole Livingstone appointed Chairman of the Victorian Institute of Sport

Adding to an already successful sporting and media career, Nicole Livingstone has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Victorian Institute of Sport. She is the Institute’s second consecutive female Chairman, following outgoing Chair Kate Palmer. Palmer was recently appointed as the first female Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Commission.

Melissa Tapper creates Australian sporting history as the first athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics and Paralympics

In a true one of kind moment, Melissa Tapper joined an exclusive, rather short list of people to qualify to represent their country in the Olympics and Paralympics. Tapper headed to both Rio Games this year wearing the Green and Gold in Table Tennis.

Jessica Gallagher becomes the first Australian Para-Athlete to medal at both the Winter and Summer Paralympics

Already a world-class cyclist and the first female to medal at the winter Paralympics, Jessica Gallagher added to her impressive list of achievements last year. In Rio, Gallagher became the first Australian para-athlete to medal at both the Winter and Summer Olympics following her bronze medal performance in the B3 1km Time Trial with sighted pilot Madison Janssen.

Lydia Lassila wins 3 World Cup events in comeback

Lydia Lassila is well on her way to the Winter Olympics and looking like a promising medal hope after making a massive start on her 2017 season winning three of five World Cup events. If she heads to the Winter Olympics in 2018, it will be her fifth Winter Olympics; an extraordinary number for any athlete.

Ashleigh McConnell wins Gold and breaks World Record at Rio

Alongside her Rio teammates, Ashleigh McConnell helped to push the bar a little higher for Paralympic swimmers when she and her team won gold in a world record time in the S9 Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. She also received an OAM for her service to sport at the 2017 Australia Day celebrations.

Catherine Skinner wins Gold in Rio

Making history as Australia’s second ever gold medal in the Women’s Trap event at the Olympics, Catherine Skinner overcame tough competition to walk away with the gold medal, Australia’s only in the event since the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Read about her success here.

The Melbourne Vixens in landmark Super Netball competition

The Melbourne Vixens have started their season with a bang in the new Suncorp Super Netball competition. The competition sees professional netballers, including the Melbourne Vixens, become some of the best paid professional female athletes in Australia following a groundbreaking pay deal. The Vixens stamped their mark on the competition early with a Round 1 victory against cross town rivals the Collingwood Magpies.

Carol Cooke’s stellar 2016 season

2016 was a big year for paralympic cyclist Carol Cooke. She won two gold medals in the T2 para-cycling classification at the Rio Olympics and was nominated in the VIS Awards of Excellence for her standout performance through the season. The icing on the cake? Her achievements throughout her 2016 were recognised by the UCI at their awards night.

Penny Smith wins her first World Cup Gold

21 year old Penny Smith started her 2017 campaign off with a bang, winning her first ever World Cup Gold medal in a new World Record at the ISSF World Cup in the Women’s trap event in India last month.