Extreme sports like MMA, freestyle skiing and surfing are normally associated with men, but these leading lady athletes of the sports world prove that women are not to be triffled with.

#5 Champion Surfer Carissa Moore



In 2011, Carissa Moore of Honolulu, Hawaii, became the youngest woman in history earn the ASP Women’s World Championship Title. Just starting out in her international pro career, she has already landed major endorsements with sponsors like Nike and Target.

#4 - World’s Toughest Mudder Juliana Sproles



While more than 150,000 people compete in Tough Mudder, only the top 5 percent of Tough Mudder finishers make the cut to compete for the World’s Toughest Mudder, a 24-hour insane, endurance challenge where athletes repeatedly loop around a 10 to 12 mile field with 20 to 30 military-style obstacles.

Juliana Sproles, a 42-year old vegan woman from Ojai, California, was not only in that top 5 percent, but she also won the 2011 women’s title of World’s Toughest Mudder.

#3 - Mixed Martial Arts Champion Megumi Fujii



Megumi Fujii of Japan is ranked #1 as the world’s top female flyweight by the Unified Women’s MMA Rankings. Fujii holds black belts in Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has earned a reputation for fast takedowns and effective submissions. This amazing competitor become so renowned for her skillful application of a move called the Inazuma Toe Hold that many people have renamed it the Megulock.





#2 - World Ironman Champion Chrissie Wellington



Hailing from Suffolk, England, 34-year old Chrissie Wellington won the World Ironman not once, not twice, but 3 times. Wellington is also the first person, either man or woman, to win the Ironman World Champsionship as a rookie within just one year of going pro.



How tough is this leading lady of extreme sports? Within a week of tearing her pectoral muscle, Chrissie Wellington won the 2011 Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, more than 2 minutes ahead of her nearest contender.

#1 - Champion Freestyle Skier Sarah Burke



One of the most tragic stories in extreme sports is that of champion freestyle skier Sarah Burke of Ontario, Canada. Burke died on January 19, 2012 at the age of 29 from injuries sustained in an training accident in Park City, Utah. She is most remembered for her mark on the sport, raising the bar for women’s freestyle skiing, often contending against men.



The legacy she leaves on the sport is undeniable. Burke was the first woman to stick a 1080 in a competition. As a pro freestyle skier, she was a the 2005 half-pipe world champion and a 4-time gold medalist in the Winter X Games. Burke is also credited with bringing superpipe to the Winter Olympics when her successful lobby of the International Olympic Committee resulted in the sport being added to the 2014 Olympic event.

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