Women in Olympics
The first Olympics in modern history was held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Women competed for the first time in the Olympics at the 1900 Games in Paris. A century down the line, history will be scripted in the same city as for the first time men and women will have equal representation at Paris Olympics 2024.
Rise of Women in Olympics
At the 1896 Athens Olympics, out of the 997 athletes, only 22 women participated in the Games in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf.
The number of sports for women in Olympics grew at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics to include athletics, gymnastics and fencing.
Of a total of 997 athletes, 22 women competed in five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism and golf. A century later, they reached representation of almost half of the total number of participants.
In the first Olympic competition they were allowed to compete; in 1900, they were only allowed to compete in tennis and golf. In Amsterdam 1928, they were allowed to compete in athletics, gymnastics and fencing.
Other sports, such as weightlifting, water polo, rowing and wrestling, took a hundred years to allow women’s sport in Olympic competition.
It was at the 2012 London Olympics that history was created as for the first time each sport at the Games had women athletes. The 2012 Games was also a historic moment as it was the first Olympics in which every country had a woman among its athletes.
From 2.20% at the 1896 Athens Olympics, the composition of women in the Olympics rose to 34% at the1996 Atlanta Olympics.
40 % of athletes at the 2004 Athens Olympics were women. The figure rose to 45% at the Rio Games. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has 48% of women in Olympics.
Over the past 25 years, the International Olympic Committee has been encouraging more female participation at the Olympic Games. The body has opened up eligibility for women in Olympics and increased the number of medal events for female athletes. Since 1991, any new sport seeking an entry into the Olympics must have women’s competitions.
Women in Olympics Who Scripted History
Charlotte Cooper (United Kingdom, 1870)
Cooper was one of the first women to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900. She participated in tennis and became the first female Olympic champion in history.
Gertrude Ederle (USA, 1905)
The American swimmer won three medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel –covering 560 kilometres in 14 hours and 34 minutes, beating the records of five men.
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Enriqueta Basilio (Mexico, 1948)
Basilio was the first woman to light the Olympic flame. She created history at the opening of the Mexico City Games in 1968 at 20 years of age. She was part of the Mexican athletics team.
Nadia Comaneci (Romania, 1961)
Nadia Comaneci became synonymous with perfection. At just 14 years of age, she scored a perfect 10 –the first ever “perfect” score in history– on the uneven bars at the 1976 Montreal Games. She won nine Olympic medals –five of which were gold, becoming one of the most decorated Olympians.
Also Read: Technology At Olympics 2024: Enhancing Athletes’ Performances
Simone Biles (USA, 1997)
Biles has won seven Olympic medals, four of them gold. She became one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time in both men’s and women’s gymnastics making a strong for women in Olympics.
