Last semester, I wrote a column containing my top two male professional athlete crushes. There are definitely more than two people in the sports world that I crush on.

Since Valentine’s Day was Thursday, I thought I would dedicate this column to a few more of my favorites. However, these three athletes are a little different from the last two. This column contains my top girl crushes. These women are not only amazing athletes, but have amazing stories and are women I look up to.

At the top of the list has to be Hope Solo. She was the goalie for the gold medal winning 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Team in London and Bejing.­ Many, myself included, believe she is the best goaltender in the world. In the USA National team program, Solo started in the goal for every age level. I’d say she is definitely inspirational and crush-worthy.

In 2012, just before the London Olympics, Solo was the subject of controversy. She was given a public warning by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for testing positive for a banned substance.­­ Solo proved that it was a mistake; she was prescribed medicine and didn’t know the illegal substance was in the medicine. Solo was cleared and was allowed to play in the Olympics. Thankfully.

I wanted to be Brittany Pozzi when I was younger. Growing up, I thought she was the best barrel racer ever. I read an article about her when I was in elementary school and instantly wanted to ride like her.

She has won the barrel racing world title twice and qualified for the National Finals Rodeo nine times. I was in awe of how amazing she and her horse were. I remember screaming at the TV screen when she won her first World Championship buckle in 2006 on her chestnut-colored horse, Stitch.

I read about this next lady in a Seventeen Magazine. Not the most sporty of magazines, but her story was inspiring. She has a gold medal of her own from the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Her gold medal was in boxing. 17-year-old Claressa Shields was the first American woman to win a gold medal in boxing.

When she first told her dad she wanted to be a boxer, he was not happy. He told her boxing was a man’s sport. However, she used his words as fuel to accomplish her dreams. She showed her dad that boxing was also a woman’s sport when she was named Most Outstanding Boxer at the Olympic Trials.

I do not only look up to these amazing female athletes for their athletic ability. I wish I was half as talented as they are. I also look up to them for their winning attitude, and their confidence.

Even when they were going through tough times, none of these women gave up. Shields grew up in the hard parts of Michigan. She has said many people she knew ended up in jail, including her own father. Pozzi just recently lost her boyfriend. He died in his sleep a few months ago.

These women underwent major hardships and still came out on top. Shields learned to fight to protect herself and family, and it turned into her greatest success. Even though Pozzi did not compete in many rodeos after her boyfriend’s death, she came back and finished third in the Women’s ProRodeo Association standings in 2012.

I can only hope to have these women’s strength and grace in the face of adversity.

Column by Jaci Kohn, Sports Editor.