In 1900, there were about twenty women; in 2024, more than five thousand participate in the Olympics. Since the first Paris edition, women have earned their place, defying the misogynistic views of Pierre de Coubertin, the father of modern Olympics.
Coubertin, IOC president until 1925, clearly opposed women’s participation in the Olympics. In 1912, he declared in the Revue Olympique that their participation would be “uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect.” He added that he could see women practicing sports, but not in public, and only sports of grace and femininity.
The first Olympic heroines
At that time, it was up to the organizing committees, not the IOC president, to propose women’s events. In 1900, in Paris, women were allowed to compete in tennis, golf, and three mixed sports: sailing, croquet, and equestrian. Twenty-two women participated in these Games, compared to 975 men. British athlete Charlotte Cooper became the first female gold medalist by winning the tennis event.
In 1912, in Stockholm, another tennis player, Marguerite Broquedis, became the first French Olympic champion. At the 1924 Paris Games, female participation doubled compared to the 1920 Antwerp Games, with 135 women out of 3088 athletes. Women competed in tennis, swimming, diving, and fencing, with Swiss Ella Maillart notably participating in sailing.
Alice Milliat: A Pioneer for equality
Alice Milliat, president of the Fรฉdรฉration des sociรฉtรฉs fรฉminines sportives de France (FSFSF), played a crucial role in advocating for women’s inclusion in the Olympics. She founded the Fรฉdรฉration Sportive Fรฉminine Internationale (FSFI) and organized the first women’s Olympic Games in 1922, later renamed “Women’s World Games.” These games were held every four years until 1934.
Milliat’s determination and Coubertin’s resignation in 1925 changed the game. At the 1928 Amsterdam Games, women were allowed to compete in athletics and gymnastics. However, resistance persisted: the IOC used the great fatigue of some athletes at the end of the 800 m race as an excuse to remove the event, which only returned in 1960.
Women were finally allowed to compete in all sports at the 2012 London Games with the introduction of women’s boxing. In recent years, more women have joined Olympic committees, with 41% female representation in the IOC, although the presidency has always been held by men.
Paris 2024: equality in action
In 2024, the Paris Olympics are the first to achieve total gender parity with 10,500 athletes, both men and women. While some events remain exclusively male or female, significant strides have been made. For example, men will be allowed to participate in synchronized swimming team events for the first time.
Mixed events are also on the rise, including relays in athletics and swimming, team events in judo, and a mixed relay in racewalking for 2024. The Olympic schedule will highlight women’s events, with the women’s marathon set for the final day before the closing ceremony, an honor usually reserved for men.
To read: Simone Biles: Team Gold and a glorious comeback in Paris 2024