Rocket launcher: When women are faster than men
When Kelly scored the winning penalty for England in the UEFA Women's Euro final on Monday, she launched the ball at 110 km/h. Her kick was faster than Newcastle United's Alexander Isak whose strike against Liverpool reached 109.9 km/h and was the quickest recorded in the EPL.
It wasn't the first time Kelly had upstaged the men.
Two years earlier, in the round of 16 of the 2023 Women's World Cup, Kelly was called upon to take the fifth penalty against Nigeria in Brisbane. Just like the Euro final, if Kelly scored, her team would win the match.
In what's become a routine so uniquely choreographed that fans have started mimicking her at home, before taking off, Kelly raises her left knee, waits, and then jumps onto it, propelling her toward the ball.
In that game against Nigeria, Kelly's goal reached 110.79 km/h which fans again were quick to point out was faster than any strike made during the previous Premier League season, beating West Ham's Said Benrahma's 107.2km/h shot. For another comparison, cheetahs, the fastest land-based animal, run at 110 km/h.
Though Kelly hasn't given much of an explanation for her technique, saying it became her routine when playing for Everton in 2018, her teammate Lucy Bronze described how Kelly's able to generate so much power in a TikTok video: When Kelly lifts her leg, Bronze says she's resting it: 'That's what helps her generate the power, resting the leg.'
Kelly isn't the only female athlete to outdo her male counterparts.
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