SARAH TAYLOR, 30
Record-breaking British cricketer who achieved the highest
individual score against Australia by an EnglishwomanI’d give my body a seven out of 10.
I don’t know many women who are
100% confident with their bodies,
but I’m quite happy with mine. I’d
like to be a bit leaner and my boobs
to be a bit bigger, but considering
I’m coming out of rehab for my hip
and only just going back into full
training, it could be worse.
Athletes should show off their
bodies more. We’ve worked really
hard to excel in our disciplines and
should be proud of the bodies
we’ve created to do that. I train
between four and five hours a day,
six days a week. It might sound
weird, but because I’m a wicket
keeper, I’m most proud of my hands.
They’ve helped me set multiple
records and I’ve not broken any
fingers yet, which is quite impressive.
My hips don’t really work properly.
In fact, the worst thing I probably
could have done for them is play
sport. The sockets are quite shallow,
so my hip bones don’t move aroundsmoothly, and I’ve got a tear in each
one. I’m constantly in pain, but then
very few sportspeople are totally
pain-free. Everyone gets niggles
now and then, but you work through
them. The end result is worth it.
The best compliment I’ve ever
received about my body is that my
bum looks good in anything. I think
that might be the sole reason they
keep me wicket keeping! Even so,
I was nervous about stripping off
for the shoot. I don’t really like beingthe centre of attention, but I know
it’ll be one of those things I’ll look
back on and be proud of.
It takes sacrifice and an element
of selfishness to get your body to
perform in a certain way. I think
sometimes, as women, we struggle
to prioritise ourselves – life takes
over and we’re so busy looking
after other people that we forget
to look after ourselves. But if you
want to achieve a certain body,
you do need to put yourself first.Women’s Health SEPTEMBER 2019 | 93
N
A
K
E
D(^2)
0
1
9