Lauren Holiday – Great on the Field, Greater Beyond It




 Lauren Holiday – Great on the Field, Greater Beyond It

Olympic champion. World champion. But her greatest victory was life itself.

She was elegance with grit.
A playmaker with vision, a midfielder with lungs, a goal scorer when needed.
Lauren Holiday — known to many as Cheney — lit up the biggest stages.
Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012.
World champion in 2015.
A star who served the team before herself.

But just as she stepped away from the game —
to start a new chapter as a mother —
came the hardest news.

A brain tumor.
Diagnosed during her pregnancy.
The big C, just as new life was beginning.

And how did she face it?

With the same calm, intelligence, and quiet strength
she had always shown on the pitch.
She underwent surgery.
She recovered.
She came back — not as a player, but as a mother, a partner, a survivor.

She proved something deeper:
True greatness isn’t measured by medals,
but by how you hold on to life
when it tries to slip away.

Today, she lives.
She smiles.
She leads — not with a ball, but with presence.
For her son, for her family, for anyone who needs to know
that it’s possible to get through.

Lauren Holiday.
She won it all.
But her greatest triumph is simply that she’s still here.
And that she shares her story —
so others never give up.

—

With admiration,
Kevin – On Women’s Football Tour



Reacties

Een reactie posten

Populaire posts van deze blog

Always There Jonna Andersson

Afbeelding
She’s not the one whose name is on festival shirts. Not the one who goes viral after a backheel or a crunching tackle. No noise. No drama. But if you look closely, you’ll see it: Jonna is always there. Champion with Linköping, before Sweden fully realised they had someone who always delivered. Then came Chelsea, where the accent was different and the scepticism louder than the wind. “Another foreigner… is she really needed?” It was Everton. It was tough. But Hedvig saved a penalty. And Jonna— Jonna scored with minutes to spare. The stadium erupted. No more words needed. She won everything there was to win. FA Cup. FAWSL titles. No headlines, just medals. No soundbites, just applause from her team. And then— back to Sweden. Not to slow down. But to build something. Hammarby, sleeping giant in green, woke up again. First title since the ’90s. The double. A team full of belief. A crowd full of hope. And there was Jonna. Always there. I was there that day...
Meer lezen

2 weken na de bekerfinale vrouwen alsnog consternatie

Afbeelding
 Twee weken later. Twee maten, één maatpak? De bekerfinale ligt intussen twee weken achter ons. Maar de echo blijft. Stefania Vatafu kreeg toen een rode kaart die achteraf geen schorsing opleverde. Een stille erkenning: de scheidsrechter zat fout. Toch werd net na diezelfde finale een verslag opgesteld door diezelfde scheidsrechter. En op basis daarvan kreeg Luna Vanzeir deze week wél een effectieve schorsing. Voor velen voelt dat krom. Inconsistent. Zelfs haar collega op het veld zei over de bewuste fase: "Dit is geen rood." Wat moet een speelster dan nog geloven? Wie leiding wil geven, moet ook vertrouwen opbouwen. En ja, respect voor de scheidsrechter blijft fundamenteel. Maar dat respect moet van twee kanten komen. Club YLA profiteert hier sportief van, maar valt niets te verwijten. De verantwoordelijkheid ligt elders — bij wie regels toepast, en bij wie ze opstelt. Het vrouwenvoetbal verdient duidelijke regels, empathie, en leiderschap met zelfinzicht. Niet een houding d...
Meer lezen

Norrköping and Hammarby Set Up Svenska Cupen Final

Afbeelding
The final off the Svenska Cuppen will be Norrköping versus Hammarby. Two teams with very different histories, but both now knocking loudly at the door of silverware. For IFK Norrköping, their 2–1 victory over BK Häcken was nothing short of a statement. Once seen as newcomers just happy to survive in the Damallsvenskan, Norrköping have quietly built something serious. The addition of experienced defender Jessica Wik (formerly Samuelsson) over the winter raised a few eyebrows — and expectations. Svea Rehnberg opened the scoring in the first half, and Wilma Liedhammer doubled the lead after the break. Although Felicia Schröder pulled one back late on, it wasn’t enough. Norrköping are no longer just passengers in the top flight — they’re contenders. The other semi-final was a blockbuster: reigning champions FC Rosengård away to Hammarby, themselves league champions and cup winners two years ago. Form pointed toward Hammarby, but few could have predicted the sheer dominance: 5–0. A performa...
Meer lezen