In this book extraordinary sportswomen's lives and accomplishments are presented and analysed. These women were rebels in a sport context and did not comply with a contemporary gender role. The chapters originally published as a special issue in Sport in Society.

Susanna Hedenborg is Professor in Sport Science, Malmö University, Sweden.

Gertrud Pfister is Professor Emeritus of Sport, Individual & Society, Copenhagen University, Denmark

Introduction Susanna Hedenborg and Gertrud Pfister 1. The shady past of female boxers - what case studies in the USA reveal Gertrud Pfister and Gerald Gems 2. Christl Cranz, Germany's ski icon of the 1930s: the Nazis' image of the ideal German woman? Annette R. Hofmann 3. Lis Hartel - an extraordinary equestrian Susanna Hedenborg 4. Ewy Rosqvist, rally queen: gender, identity and car racing at the beginning of the 1960s Helena Tolvhed 5. Wanda Rutkiewicz - crossing boundaries in women's mountaineering Martina Gugglberger 6. 'It's not how you look; it's what you do.' Western Canadian Barrel Racers, Rodeo Legitimacy and Femininity Desirea Weninger and Christine Dallaire