Women's Rights

ABC's "The Superstars" Highlights Major Female Athletes

by Christina Carr

category: Women in Sports

Published April 22, 2009 @ 12:16PM PT

For those of you interested in both women's sports and reality television, there's a new show airing this summer.  ABC's "The Superstars" will premier on Tuesday, June 23 at 8 p.m., ET, pitting athlete-celebrity pairs against one another to compete in various sporting events for the title of "The Superstars Champion."

The eight athletes on the show include four female athletes. Tennis star Jennifer Capriati, who was the 2001 AP Female Athlete of the year and has one three Grand Slam titles, 14 singles titles, one doubles title, and an Olympic gold medal in 1992, will pair with David Charvet, from "Baywatch" and "Melrose Place" fame.

Soccer star Brandi Chastain, most famous for scoring the winning goal during the 1999 World Cup, and who has won multiple Olympic medals in the sport, will pair with Julio Iglesias, Jr., latin singer and songwriter.

Kristi Leskinen, a well-known X Games action sports athlete and Women's Skiing Superpipe champion, will pair with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, a dancer best known for his work on the ABC show "Dancing with the Stars."

Lisa Leslie, one of the best-known athletes of the Women's National Basketball Association, the first player to dunk in a women's professional basketball game, and the first basketball player (male or female) to win four consecutive gold medals in the sport, will pair with Dan Cortese, whose television hosting and acting credits include hosting "MTV Sports," and acting in "Joey," "Seinfeld," and currently as a recurring case member on ABC's "Surviving Suburbia."

Other competing athlete-celebrity matchups will include NFL star Terrell Owens with model Joanna Krupa; baseball player Jeff Kent with actress Ali Landry; NBA athlete Robert Horry with actress and former synchronized swimmer Estella Warren; and skier Bode Miller with carpenter, author and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" star Paige Hemmis.

The teams will be challenged in events including swimming, biking, running, and kayaking, as well as other athletic challenges. Every week one team will be eliminated until one team is proclaimed the winner.

Though reality television might not be the most likely venue for the advancement of women's sports, a likely diverse audience will bring more visibility for these women, and maybe even generate some devoted followers of their athletic careers. Each of these ladies comes to the show with an impressive athletic resume, and the competition promises to be intense. So tune in this summer, and cheer on your favorite athlete-celebrity duo, and maybe learn more about your favorite female athlete in the process.