A breast cancer survivor and brave baller, a leggie who wanted to spin it like Warnie, a pioneering female Indigenous rugby league coach, and a cycling crash victim getting back on the bike.
These are a few of the remarkable women making a big impact in sport, who have been highlighted in ABC Sport's Women in Sport Spotlight video series.
Tiana Mangakahia
At 24 years old and a promising young basketball talent, Tiana Mangakahia was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"I was probably playing the best basketball that I've ever played. I was the fittest I'd ever been," Mangakahia said.
Mangakahia had stints in the WNBL as a teenager and represented Australia at the junior level.
In 2017, she went to the US to further her career, joining Syracuse University.
In her first two seasons, she earned selection in the Opals' preliminary Tokyo Olympics squad and was touted as a top-eight WNBA draft pick.
But her destiny was up-ended when she found a lump in her breast in 2019.
"When I was diagnosed, everything kind of fell apart. I was just really scared and confused," Mangakahia said.
Mangakahia remained in upstate New York for her treatment, with her parents and five brothers taking turns staying with her throughout her four months of chemotherapy.
Nearly a year after her diagnosis, Mangakahia returned to training with Syracuse. She made her official comeback a few months later.
She's now home playing for the Sydney Flames in the WNBL, while other dreams await.
"I want to play at the Olympics, I want to play in the WNBA, and I also want a family, I want to have kids," Mangakahia said.
Jessica Skinner
Jessica Skinner is one of very few Indigenous women coaching rugby league at the elite level, and it's a passion she only fell into recently.
Skinner was raised in Trangie in central-western New South Wales, and has worked as a school teacher there for over a decade.
"There's a lot of social issues within my area of the far west, particularly with women, that amplified during the footy season," Skinner said.
So being around rugby league all her life, she wanted to get other women involved to help stem things like alcoholism, domestic violence and mental health problems.
Then the opportunity to coach came up, in a roundabout way.
"There were a lot of times when males didn't feel really comfortable having females within that space or coaching them," Skinner said.
"So, I put my hand up and said, you know what, I'll coach them, and show you that can be done and that women belong in this space."
Jada Whyman
Jada Whyman is one of the top goalkeepers in the A-League Women competition, but she's battled some pretty tough stuff on the way.
The 23-year-old Indigenous woman had to overcome racism as a young kid, and knee injuries that cost her a couple of years in her short career.
"The world comes at you sometimes and you've just got to know that you're more important than the bad things," Whyman said.
Coming from a family she could look up to, made all the difference.
"My heritage is very important to me, my pop was a big leader in pushing a lot of things in Wagga in terms of the Aboriginal legal service and the Aboriginal medical service, my nan as well," Whyman said.
"Having people like that in my life, very inspiring people, strong-minded people, they've taught me to do the same, to push through any barriers that you have and to continue to grow and I guess lead as an example as a proud Indigenous person."
Whyman hopes to make the team for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup and is looking to other Indigenous kids to help her there.
"A lot of the young Indigenous kids that pursue football and make big and brave decisions to move away from home, they're an inspiration to me and they keep me going every day trying to pursue my dreams."
Alana King
You could safely say that Alana King has exploded onto the international cricketing stage.
The 26-year-old leg spinner debuted for Australia in January but, only a couple of years before that, she was struggling to get a game for her state.
"I couldn't bowl a lot when Meg [Lanning] was blessed with so many Aussie players, she was spoilt for choice," King said.
So she decided to take a big risk and move across the country to Western Australia.
"I thought long and hard about it, but I just knew that I needed to try something new," King said.
"I'm very close to my family and not seeing them for about a year was pretty tough."
But it paid off in spades, with King now a mainstay in the Australian squad across all formats of cricket.
Now she sees her role as inspiring the next generation.
"I just want kids to pick up a bat and ball and realise how much they love cricket … because I think it's the best sport in the world."
Gabby Vassallo
Gabby Vassallo feels at home when she's on her bike — or, nowadays, her trike.
When she was living overseas, she decided to do a cycling tour of the Pyrenees.
It was a high point in her life and inspired her to train for an Ironman triathlon when she returned home to Australia.
"Unfortunately, I got hit by a car riding my bike while I was training. So that ended everything," she said.
"Now through lots of support, I've been able to get back on a bike, although it is modified. But it's still cycling, and it's such a passion of mine to be able to move.
"I think, ironically, because my mobility is limited when I'm not on a bike or using adaptive equipment.
"But that proves that you can pretty much do anything that you put your mind to."
During her arduous rehabilitation and recovery, she set herself a goal — to return to the Pyrenees and complete the tour that kickstarted her love of cycling.
In 2019, 10 years after her accident, she returned.
"It was a celebration. I'd come so far from those early days, not being able to walk," she said.
"I came back and I literally felt like I could do anything and I was floating on air because I set out this massive goal."
Josie Taoi
Josie Taoi is a Fijian Australian who grew up in western Sydney, playing street ball.
She was a representative player and says basketball was her "saving grace" as she grew up "pretty poor", raised by a single mother.
"I understand from experience how it can be a positive tool to keep you in a good environment, in terms of the people you're surrounded by," Taoi said.
Taoi's brother is a pretty good player too and, thanks to his sister's use of social media, he gained a scholarship with a US college.
Once Taoi saw how social media helped her brother achieve his dreams, she vowed to use it to do the same for others.
She's since set up Promote the GOAT, where she uses social media to showcase the talents of local ballers.
"I've seen a lot of the kids that I've put on my platform enter new programs with amazing coaches, get opportunities to go overseas, get invited to special tournaments," she said.
"I feel like this is my purpose, to encourage other people and be a light in the community for positive life skills."
Yareni Guerrero
When Yareni Guerrero migrated to Australia 10 years ago, she was desperate to continue the sport she loved — wrestling.
She was an elite wrestler in her home country of Mexico but struggled to find any opponents to compete against here and as a new migrant, it was even harder.
Guerrero's experiences lit a fire within her, to grow the sport for women and show her two daughters that it's worth fighting for equal rights.
She pours in countless hours volunteering with Wrestling Australia and with her role as a member of the United World Wrestling Gender Equality Commission.
That's in addition to studying for a PhD in Exercise Physiology at the University of Sydney.
She says while more women are now taking up the sport as athletes, it's a different story off the competition mat.
"We need women in the top level of the sport," she said.
"It is not a wrong thing being the kid's coach, but you can be a high-performance coach, you can be the top of the referees and you can be also a leader in your own sport."
Marie Little Shield
Jocelyn Ryder may usually be the smallest person on the netball court, but she has a warm, exuberant presence that fills the space.
The 32-year-old is the captain of the Northern Territory's netball team for women with an intellectual disability, which recently competed in the Marie Little Shield.
The tournament returned for the first time since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was an especially significant one for the NT — claiming their first win since the competition started nine years ago.
"I love the sport and it makes me just get out there and enjoy it," Ryder said.
South Australia captain Isabella Ivancic-Holland has been representing her state since she was 13, and is another who embraces the experience.
"You just make new friends and everyone's so welcoming, they don't exclude you and say this person isn't good enough," she said.
"And that's what you need in netball. You want to be included in the sport and you want to be treated right."
To watch all the episodes, go to ABC iView.
