Wall of Will | Sports Illustrated Deutschland

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Young girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys, often due to challenges they feel are theirs alone. Yet countless professional sportswomen have faced - and overcome - the same obstacles.

However, their stories never reach young girls.

Wall of Will is changing that by making these role models impossible to miss. By turning inspiring articles about female athletes into bold, larger-than-life wallpapers, their stories are brought into school locker rooms and gyms - the very places where girls often think about quitting sports.

THIS IS THE

Young girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys, often due to challenges they feel are theirs alone. Yet countless professional sportswomen have faced - and overcome - the same obstacles. However, their stories never reach young girls.

Wall of Will is changing that by making these role models impossible to miss.
By turning inspiring articles about female athletes into larger-than-life, bold wallpapers, their stories are brought into school locker rooms and gyms - the very places where girls often think about quitting sports.

THIS IS THE

ATHLETE ARTICLES TURNED INTO
MASSIVE WALLPAPERS

The Wall of Will addresses the most common factors that cause young girls to drop out through the stories of 7 role models – Giulia Gwinn, Satou Sabally, Nyara Sabally, Hannah Meul, Gina Lückenkemper, Lilly Stoephasius and Katharina Isele.

ATHLETE ARTICLES TURNED INTO
MASSIVE WALLPAPERS

The Wall of Will addresses the most common factors that cause young girls to drop out through the stories of 7 role models –
Giulia Gwinn, Satou Sabally, Nyara Sabally, Hannah Meul, Gina Lückenkemper, Lilly Stoephasius and Katharina Isele.

After two cruciate ligament tears, most football players would consider retiring. Giulia decided not to be like most players and bounced back to win an Olympic bronze in 2024.

GIULIA

After a fall that cost 14-year-old Lilly a front tooth and required stitches, she was back on a skate ramp, smiling, the next week—and went on to become Germany's youngest Olympian.

LILLY

Katharina did no sports as a child and weighed over 90 kg at 21. When told to lose weight, she chose to lift weights instead. In 2022, she became the German Weightlifting Champion and was crowned The Fittest Woman in Germany in functional fitness.

KATHARINA

Gina won an Olympic bronze in 2024 with her relay teammates – Lisa Mayer, Alexandra Burghardt, and Rebekka Haase – who are also her competitors in individual events. She believes that competing against strong athletes should not bring pressure, but pride.

Gina

You will always be compared to others around you. Nyara believes that it is all about focussing on yourself and taking every chance you get - an attitude that helped her emerge as New York Liberty’s hero in the 2024 Championship final and bring home their first-ever WNBA title.

Nyara

As a little girl, Hannah wrote her dream of participating in the Olympics in friendship journals. She is determined to
make it happen, no
matter the challenges.

Hannah

I remember my first reaction - I was so impressed by its colorfulness, the pictures, the quotes, and the overall design. The whole new atmosphere was extremely inspiring, the bright colors in combination with stories of real athletes made the mood in the gym even more exciting and motivating.

I think the Wall of Will is definitely going to change the mindsets of a lot of girls because this building is used by girls between ages 5-18. We see all these strong, independent, determined and resilient roles models. Even they have setbacks but they’re still there and now we can see that every day.

It sends a powerful message to our female students. It’s very colourful, very beautiful and right there when girls come out of their lockers. I think it has subconsciously and unconsciously impacted their attitude towards sports.

The Wall of Will highlights the struggles and triumphs of athletes, helping young girls see that they too can excel in sports. It makes them realise that it is ok to have bad days because the biggest athletes in the world have them too.

I had role models to always look up to - strong women that empowered me to dream big and reach my goals. I’m super proud to be able to do the same for others.

We noticed that there has been a significant drop in girls doing sports. With the Wall of Will, we want to emphasize to them that they don’t have to go and be Olympic athletes, but they can keep doing more for their physical and mental health.

Overcoming adversity is an important step to success. And that's exactly what I value so much about the
Wall of Will – it inspires and motivates.

Young girls should understand that success is not only defined by accomplishments but also by the courage to challenge societal norms and fight for their rightful place.