Five of the most inspirational sportswomen from Edinburgh

Celebrating International Women’s Day with five inspirational active athletes who hail from this fine city of ours.
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Kathryn Bryce (cricket)

The 24-year-old made headlines last year when she became the first Scottish cricketer ever, either in men’s or women’s sports, to make it into the top ten of the ICC Player Rankings. Her sister Sarah held the previous highest mark for batters when she reached 14th in August, 2019. Captain of the Scotland international team since 2018, and the Lightning since 2020, Kathryn is an excellent all-rounder, often batting third and leading the bowling in addition to her refined skills as a fielder.

Jennifer Dodds (curling)

Edinburgh curler Jennifer Dodds, centre, won Olympic gold at the most recent winter games in Beijing. Picture: SNSEdinburgh curler Jennifer Dodds, centre, won Olympic gold at the most recent winter games in Beijing. Picture: SNS
Edinburgh curler Jennifer Dodds, centre, won Olympic gold at the most recent winter games in Beijing. Picture: SNS

Now an Olympic gold medalist, Dodds was the Second on Eve Muirhead’s victorious Team GB side at the latest winter games in Beijing. The 30-year-old is a full-time professional at the sport she began playing as just a child at the Gogar Park Young Curlers club, where she initially met Bruce Mouat, who would go on to be her mixed-doubles partner. The pair came in fourth at the Olympics after a tremendous showing at the World Championships, narrowly missing out on a second medal.

Sarah Law (rugby)

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The fly-half played a starring role as Scotland qualified for the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 2010 just last month. The 27-year-old kicked a vital last-second conversion in a 20-18 victory over Ireland which saw the Scots advance to a final qualification tournament in Dubai, where they faced Colombia in the final after receiving a bye. They would trounce the South Americans 59-3 with Law scoring a try and adding 12 points with her boot in the hammering. In addition to her heroics on the field, Law has an applied maths degree and is now a data analyst, which leads her team-mates to joke she secretly works for MI5, she revealed in a recent interview.

Gabrielle MacDonald (golf)

Hibernian's Joelle Murray during a UEFA Women's Champions League last 32 against Slavia Prague at Easter Road in 2019. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Hibernian's Joelle Murray during a UEFA Women's Champions League last 32 against Slavia Prague at Easter Road in 2019. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Hibernian's Joelle Murray during a UEFA Women's Champions League last 32 against Slavia Prague at Easter Road in 2019. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

The Craigielaw player turned professional in 2019 and earned a spot on this year’s European Tour by finishing second in the Order of Merit. She achieved the feat thanks in large part to a pair of victories on the LET Access Series in the space of just a month, winning at the Allerum Open in Sweden before adding the Lavaux Ladies Open in Switzerland just three events later. The 28-year-old has had to overcome heartache in her personal life after her mum, whom she described as the biggest inspiration, sadly passed away in December 2018.

Joelle Murray (football)

Technically she’s not from Edinburgh having been born and raised in Berwickshire, but seeing as she’s been a part of Hibernian Football Club for 23 years we reckon it’s safe to adopt her as one of our own. The 48-cap Scottish international has been with the Hibees her entire career, helping the club to success in the SWPL, Scottish Cup and League Cup several times over. In addition to still being an active member of Dean Gibson’s squad, she is also now academy director for the girls’ and women’s teams.

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