Photos: http://bit.ly/2pIIuof

For the second consecutive year, the espnW: Women + Sports, Chicago united leaders in sports and business for discussions, presentations and activities geared to inspire and engage women in sports. Hosted by native Chicagoan and espnW writer Sarah Spain, the one-day conference took place Wednesday, May 3, and was headlined by Parks and Recreation actress and comedienne Retta as the opening keynote interview.

espnW also welcomed gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, Laurie Hernandez,  Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie, Chicago Red Stars and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Christen Press, and Olympic beach volleyball bronze medalist April Ross, and veteran Chicago sports broadcaster Peggy Kusinski.

The event served not only to put the spotlight on athletes and executives, but also broke news with eye-opening research studies from an espnW athlete survey, as well as a collaborative study with EY. In addition, espnW announced a new podcast, in collaboration with ESPN Audio. The full stream of the espnW: Women + Sports, Chicago is available at WatchESPN. A recap of the announcements made at the Chicago event follows:

espnW Unveils Body Image Confidential Research Highlighting Conversations around Body Image Perception in Women’s Sports

espnW launched its newest multi-media platform, Body Image Confidential – highlighting the complicated balancing act of maintaining top physical condition for women athletes in the United States, while battling expectations of femininity and physicality. As part of Body Image Confidential, espnW distributed an anonymous survey to more than 200 Division I female student-athletes nationwide that included personal questions about physicality, eating disorders and the pressure to be pretty in sports. The results are available now on espnW.com. Full Release

Female athletes make winning entrepreneurs, according to new EY/espnW report

EY and espnW today released a new report examining how sport prepares women to build successful businesses in the high-stakes world of entrepreneurship.

The report, “Why female athletes make winning entrepreneurs,” highlights the skills women develop as athletes and how those winning behaviors contribute to entrepreneurial success. Through a series of in-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs, including Olympians, elite, professional and collegiate-level athletes from nine countries and 11 different sports, the study explores how competing in sport — and learning key behaviors from those who play at the highest levels — can help women entrepreneurs without sports backgrounds build market-leading companies. Full Release

New Podcast from ESPN Audio: Free Cookies with Kate Fagan and Kathryn Budig

espnW, in conjunction with ESPN Audio, is debuting a new podcast, Free Cookies, in which espnW writer Kate Fagan, who often appears on SportsCenter and a variety of ESPN studio programs, and best-selling author and yoga expert Kathryn Budig will co-host and interview guests from the worlds of sports and more. The announcement was made at the espnW: Women + Sports, Chicago conference by espnW and ESPN The Magazine editor-in-chief Alison Overholt.  In the premiere episode, the two speak to soccer star Abby Wambach. Full Release

For more on espnW and espnW: Women + Sports, Chicago, visit www.espnWchicago.com.

– 30 –