Technology
Mary Fowler’s dream was to go to the Olympics. Now, she’s focused on a personal goal
In sport, it’s said the “lucky” athletes get to decide when – and how – they retire. Sadly, injury or illness often intervene. For the Matildas’ Mary Fowler, life after soccer ideally looks like this: a farmhouse with animals, a vegie patch and, if she gets her way, a top-of-the-line coffee machine (more on that later).
Hopefully, for the 22-year-old – who’s also a star player for Manchester City in England’s Women’s Super League – that dream is still a long way off. Because the curly haired girl from Cairns, who was first selected for the Australian national team at just 15, is only getting started.
Still, not long ago, after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in April’s FA Cup semifinal against Manchester United, Fowler was forced to contemplate life without football. “Whenever I’ve been injured, it’s made me appreciate the game even more,” Fowler says via Zoom from her apartment in Manchester, where she has been based since 2022.
Freshly showered and wearing a greenish jumper, her signature dark hair spilling to the edges of the screen, Fowler appears relaxed and happy.
Prior to this spell on the sidelines, the two-time Olympian’s longest break from football was three months in 2023, the result of a back injury. “I’ve always had passions outside of football, and I’m the kind of person who gets really excited about doing things when I’m finished playing. I have confidence knowing that there is a version of me outside of football that can be just as good at something else.”
Fowler proved that point last month when she made her catwalk debut in the L’Oréal Paris Le Défilé – a runway celebrating diversity in beauty. Trading her football boots for Chloé heels and a black Christian Siriano gown, Fowler joined fellow L’Oréal ambassadors such as Kendall Jenner and Helen Mirren for the eighth annual “Walk Your Worth” event, held at Hôtel de Ville in Paris.
While modelling isn’t necessarily on Fowler’s list of potential post-football vocations, she says the experience reinforced the importance of “women just celebrating each other … lifting each other up in general and admiring what another woman is doing, rather than feeling envy”.
In sport, it’s said the “lucky” athletes get to decide when – and how – they retire. Sadly, injury or illness often intervene. For the Matildas’ Mary Fowler, life after soccer ideally looks like this: a farmhouse with animals, a vegie patch and, if she gets her way, a top-of-the-line coffee machine (more on that later).
Hopefully, for the 22-year-old – who’s also a star player for Manchester City in England’s Women’s Super League – that dream is still a long way off. Because the curly haired girl from Cairns, who was first selected for the Australian national team at just 15, is only getting started.
Still, not long ago, after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in April’s FA Cup semifinal against Manchester United, Fowler was forced to contemplate life without football. “Whenever I’ve been injured, it’s made me appreciate the game even more,” Fowler says via Zoom from her apartment in Manchester, where she has been based since 2022.
Freshly showered and wearing a greenish jumper, her signature dark hair spilling to the edges of the screen, Fowler appears relaxed and happy.
Prior to this spell on the sidelines, the two-time Olympian’s longest break from football was three months in 2023, the result of a back injury. “I’ve always had passions outside of football, and I’m the kind of person who gets really excited about doing things when I’m finished playing. I have confidence knowing that there is a version of me outside of football that can be just as good at something else.”
Fowler proved that point last month when she made her catwalk debut in the L’Oréal Paris Le Défilé – a runway celebrating diversity in beauty. Trading her football boots for Chloé heels and a black Christian Siriano gown, Fowler joined fellow L’Oréal ambassadors such as Kendall Jenner and Helen Mirren for the eighth annual “Walk Your Worth” event, held at Hôtel de Ville in Paris.
While modelling isn’t necessarily on Fowler’s list of potential post-football vocations, she says the experience reinforced the importance of “women just celebrating each other … lifting each other up in general and admiring what another woman is doing, rather than feeling envy”.
