62
PULLINGNOPUNCHES...
‘YOUHAVE
TOHAVEA
RHINO’SSKIN
INTHISJOB’
SKYSPORTSPRESENTERANNAWOOLHOUSE
TELLSOK!’SKATIELANGFORD-FOSTERABOUT
WINNINGOVERTHEBOXINGWORLD
T
he sun is shining in London when we
arrive to meet Sky Sports presenter
Anna Woolhouse for our exclusive
shoot. And as we start discussing her
role as the only female member of Sky TV’s
boxing team, she’s quick to correct us. ‘I am
the only woman in front of the camera, but
we have some brilliant women behind the
camera,’ she smiles.
The 34 year old’s career with Sky Sports
has seen her cover everything from ice hockey
to Formula 1, and since 2017 she has fronted
the channel’s boxing. But though she’s often
asked whether she felt intimidated entering
such a male-dominated field, the thought
never crossed Anna’s mind. ‘When I started,
there were a few eyebrows raised from certain
trainers – like “she needs to prove herself” –
but I never felt that myself. I just wanted to do
the best job that I could,’ she says.
The reaction to her landing the job two
years on has been overwhelmingly positive,
but she has had her fair share of naysayers
on social media. And some particularly cruel
comments last summer were aimed at her
late brother, who died in a bus accident inMalaysia in 2014. ‘If you have an opinion on
my work, fine, but when it gets personal,
that’s not on,’ she reflects.
As well as being a heavyweight in the
sports presenting world, Anna is also a dab
hand on the boxing pads herself and an avid
gym goer. And after a few minutes chatting to
the star, we’re inspired to get ourselves over
to the squat rack, too!
Here, Anna, who lives in south
west London with her miniature
daschund Mr Chip, talks women
in sport and why feminism means
making your own choices...When you joined the boxing
team, did you feel like you had
something to prove in such a
male-dominated field?
I genuinely have never truly felt
like that. I have never stood
there in front of a camera and
thought, as a woman doing
this job I really have a point to
prove, I just wanted to do the
best job I could. Maybe that’s