I stand on the shoulders of great women that have paved the way.

The words of Leah Williamson — “I stand on the shoulders of great women that have paved the way.” — resound with humility and reverence, echoing the eternal truth that no triumph is won alone. Williamson, captain of England’s victorious 2022 UEFA Women’s Championship team, speaks not only for herself but for all who inherit the fruits of battles fought by others. In honoring the women before her, she acknowledges that today’s glory was built upon yesterday’s struggle.

The meaning is radiant: progress is not born in a single moment but is a chain of sacrifices, each link forged by those who dared to fight when the world refused them. The “great women” of whom Williamson speaks are those who endured scorn, neglect, and invisibility, yet pressed forward so that future generations might dream without chains. Her words remind us that every victory is rooted in gratitude, and every champion carries the weight of those who came before.

History gives this truth flesh. In 1921, the Football Association in England banned women’s football, declaring it “unsuitable.” For decades, countless women were denied the chance to play on proper grounds, their dreams stifled by prejudice. Yet they persisted, playing in secret, in small leagues, and in defiance of those who mocked them. When the ban was finally lifted in 1971, the seeds of today’s success were already planted by those who refused to surrender. It is upon their shoulders that Williamson and her team now stand, lifting the trophy that once seemed unreachable.

Her words mirror the wisdom of other struggles as well. Just as Martin Luther King Jr. declared that he stood on the shoulders of those who came before him in the fight for civil rights, so too does Williamson proclaim that her path was not carved by chance but by the relentless courage of women who would not be silenced. Every movement, whether for freedom, equality, or recognition, is a river fed by countless streams of sacrifice.

Let this wisdom be passed to generations: never forget the shoulders upon which you stand. To honor the past is to strengthen the present and to inspire the future. Leah Williamson’s words are both a hymn of gratitude and a call to responsibility — for just as she stands upon the shoulders of others, so too must she and her generation build strong shoulders for those yet to come. In this chain of courage, the legacy of “great women” will never fade, but rise higher with each generation that remembers and carries it forward.