North Yorkshire's own Lioness is captaining a national walking challenge in memory of her beloved mum.
Lioness and Arsenal Women’s superstar Beth Mead, who grew up in the village of Hinderwell, near Whitby, is spearheading the Walk in Her Name challenge for the Ovarian Cancer Action charity.
June Mead died of late-stage ovarian cancer in January 2023 and England footballer Beth became an ambassador for the charity a month later.
Beth, 28, is urging people across the country to support her and others taking part in the Walk in Her Name challenge to help life-saving research for ovarian cancer.
The challenge involves walking 100km during March, which is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. It encourages a coming together to celebrate the women with cancer and in memory of those who have sadly lost their lives.
This is the second year Beth has led the challenge but last year, after she suffered a ligament injury, she was unable to participate.
This year she’ll be keeping track of her steps as she plays and trains for Arsenal.
Beth, the first women's footballer to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2022, said: “I’m so excited to be the captain for Ovarian Cancer Action’s Walk in Her Name. Ovarian cancer is underfunded and overlooked, and the odds are against women surviving.
"We lost my mum due to lack of research breakthroughs, and we found out too late.
"I hope we can raise money through this event to ensure women have more time with their loved ones. I’m super proud to be doing this for my mum.”
Beth is being joined in her challenge by several of her Arsenal teammates - Alessia Russo, Caitlin Foord, Cloe Lacasse, Emily Fox, Frida Maanum, Katie McCabe, Kim Little, Laia Codina, Laura Wienroither, Lia Walti, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Sarah Bouhaddi, Steph Catley, Teyah Goldie, Vic Pelova and Vivianne Miedema.
Beth and her teammates will be tracking their steps across the pitch and throughout training, to help raise vital funds for ovarian cancer research.
Although it is too late to sign up to take part in Walk In Her Name, but instead people can still sponsor Beth and her Arsenal teammates here: justgiving.com/fundraising/beth1708015362787
The challenge is also supported by West Ham - in solidarity, they aren’t participating- and Rugby Borough who are taking part.
Beth said: "Walk in Her Name is close to my heart as I recently lost my mum, June, to ovarian cancer.
"She was my inspiration and I'm very proud that I'm doing this for her.
"Let's come together, celebrate, remember - and champion the women in our lives."
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Ovarian cancer has the lowest survival rates amongst all five gynaelogical cancers, with just one in three women living more than 10 years after diagnosis.
In the UK it kills a woman once every two hours. Survival is more likely if it’s caught early, but there is currently no screening programme and symptoms often do not develop until stage 3 or 4.
Ovarian Cancer Action is working to transform survival rates so that by 2032 at least half of women with ovarian cancer live for 10 years.
The charity has invested more than £12.3 million in life-saving research since 2006 and has the largest research centre dedicated to ovarian cancer research in Europe.
For more information, visit: ovarian.org.uk/
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