No comments yet

Women in Olympic history

Athens 1896: “A woman cannot have any other task than to put a wreath on the winner,” - Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee. There were no women at all at the first modern Olympics. Organizers described women's participation as impractical, uninteresting and inappropriate.

Paris 1900: For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, 11 athletes took part in the games. England's Charlotte Cooper won the singles tennis tournament. This was the first Olympic medal won by a woman.

Stockholm 1912: Women's swimming was included for the first time, however, Team USA ignored the sport because their athletes were required to wear long skirts in any event.

Paris 1924: American Sybil Bauer won gold in the 100-meter backstroke. 2 years earlier, she broke the world record set by a man.

Berlin 1936: Louise Stokes and Tidy Pickett became the first African-American women at the Olympic Games. They represented the US team.

London 1948: Alice Marie Kochman, an African-American, won gold in track and field as a member of Team USA.

Helsinki 1952: Women began to be accepted as riders for equestrian competitions and were given the opportunity to compete for individual championship. Liz Hartel, won silver in dressage.

Munich 1972: Lorna Johnson became the oldest participant in the games at 69 years old.

Los Angeles 1984: Nawal El Moutawakel, representing Morocco, won gold in the 400m steeplechase as the first Muslim woman.

Seoul 1988: Christine Otto, GDR, won 6 gold medals and broke 4 world records.

Barcelona 1992: 35 out of 169 participating countries were not ready to send female athletes. These are mainly countries of the Muslim world.

Atlanta 1996: Lida Fariman, Iran, became the first female flag bearer.

Sydney 2000: Bahrain introduced women to the Olympics for the first time. They were swimmer Fatema Harid Gerashi and runner Mariam Mohamed Hadi Hilli.

Athens 2004: Robina Jalali (Mukimyar), Afghanistan, ran a hundred meters wearing a traditional Muslim headdress - a hijab.

Beijing 2008: Oman and the United Arab Emirates introduced female athletes for the first time.

London 2012: With the IOC threatening to exclude countries that do not respect gender equality from the Games, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Brunei have shown intentions to include women in their national teams.

Prepared from BBC materials

Receive the most interesting news from Europe every week!

The movement for women's equality was not only reflected in the History of Games, but also manifested itself very clearly. In fact, Pierre Coubertin's concept was expanded - female and male athletes received equal rights, and in some sports, the opportunity to compete with each other.

In London 1908, women (36 participants) appeared for the first time. They competed in tennis, archery and figure skating. In sailing, the winning crew from Great Britain in the 7 meter class included a lady, Frances Rivett-Carneck, together with her husband Charles. True, the crew competed against themselves - there were no other participants in this class. The woman was also on the British ship that took 3rd place in the 8-meter class, and she received an Olympic award, although she was listed as an “additional crew member”, in fact, a passenger. Not surprising, because this is the owner of the yacht, Constance Cornuelis-West, Duchess of Westminster.

English ladies' football team "Dick Curr's Ladies", 1922

The question of women's participation in competitions at the beginning of the twentieth century. stood very seriously. Many sports were prohibited for ladies; there were significantly fewer women's sports than men's. Coubertin, the IOC and the International Athletics Federation strongly protested the inclusion of women's athletics in the Olympics.

In 1921, the International Women's Sports Federation (FSFI) was created, headed by the Frenchwoman Alice Milliat. This determined and powerful lady was fond of many sports unusual for women, including football, hockey and rowing. Alice was not just cunning and assertive. She received a good education and spoke several languages ​​fluently. And, what is significant, she had experience of close communication with men - she was married, although her husband soon left her a widow.

In response to the refusal to include women's athletics in the Olympic Games, Milliat announced the holding of the Women's Games. They took place in 1922 in Paris, brought together athletes from 5 countries and were an unexpected success. As a result, the FSFI achieved the inclusion of athletics in the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.

It is possible that communication with this lady was one of the reasons for Pierre Coubertin’s resignation from the post of IOC president. He had nothing against the performance of women in sports such as tennis and figure skating, but considered the demonstration of force and tension absolutely unacceptable. One day he was shocked to see women sledding. What can we say about throwing and jumping!

In the 1926 Women's World Games (the name "Olympic Games" for which the IAAF and IOC were outraged), 92 athletes from 15 countries participated in the 1926 Women's Games in Gothenburg. The program consisted only of track and field events.

The inclusion of women's athletics in the 1928 Games program was not yet a final victory. A few years later, the IOC members excluded them from the 1932 Games by a majority vote. There was a good reason for this - due to extreme heat, several athletes were unable to complete the 800 m distance.

The next women's festivals were held in Prague. The program no longer included only athletics, but also basketball and handball. The success of these Games forced the IOC to change its decision, and women's athletics still made it into the 1932 Olympic Games. But Alice continued her struggle, deciding, like a true feminist, to “finish off” the men. She demanded that women's disciplines be excluded from the program so that the ladies could hold their own independent Games. Her call went unanswered, but clearly did not go unheeded: in 1936 in Berlin, women's athletics were represented in a large number of events, although not all that were previously announced. In 1936, the FSFI completely transferred the leadership of women's athletics disciplines to the IAAF, and was soon dissolved. The main task was completed - women's athletics became entrenched in the Olympic program.

Suzanne Lenglen - women's tennis legend

As for football, it was in this form that the first ever “Battle of the Sexes” took place: in 1922, the English women's team Dick Curr's Ladies played a series of matches with men's teams in the United States. The result is a draw - three wins, three losses, three draws. But women's football appeared at the Olympic Games only in 1996.

In our time, there are no more male or female sports, and complete equality has been achieved. No one is surprised, although many still find it strange, for example, women's weightlifting or men's rhythmic gymnastics, women's ski jumping competitions (presented at the world championships since 2009) or men's persistent attempts to get into the latter, which is still closed to them type - synchronized swimming. By the way, it originated as a male species. In 1882, a team of swimmers appeared in England, which performed various figures on the water. Later, in 1891, the first synchronized swimming competitions among men were held in Berlin. The first and so far only man who decided to compete in this event was the American Bill May, who took second place in the duet competition in a pair with a girl, Christina Lum, at competitions held as part of the Goodwill Games, and also won silver in group exercises. The athlete categorically rejected suspicions about his homosexuality and said that he took up synchronized swimming at the age of 10 with his sister.

Typically, with the exception of mixed doubles, men and women compete separately. At the Olympic Games, only in a few sports did women have a chance to beat men - participants of both sexes were allowed to compete in shooting, as well as sailing and equestrian sports.

In the 1970s, men and women competed together in pistol shooting. Only once did a lady manage to win an Olympic medal - the American Margaret Murdoch became the silver medalist at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. In skeet shooting, athletes of different genders competed together for twenty years. Here women won one gold medal - Chinese Zhang Shan became the champion in Barcelona 1992.

In sailing, after 1908, the first Olympic champion as part of a mixed team in 1920 was the Englishwoman Dorothy Wright (her husband Kirill was also in the crew). In 1928, the French team that won gold also included a lady - Virginie Heriot. Alas, there were no more women among the winners and prize-winners of the Olympiads in mixed events, so it is not surprising that many of these events were canceled or they were split into male and female.

Anky van Grunsven wins her 9th Olympic medal. London 2012

Equestrian sport is perhaps the only one where the chances of ladies and gentlemen can be considered equal. The first female medalist in dressage competition was Lise Hartl from Switzerland, who won at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. silver medal In Athens 2004, for the second time in a row and the third time in history (previously in Seoul 1988 and Sydney 2000), all three prizes in dressage were taken by women.

In Mexico City 1968, Soviet riders Elena Petushkova, Ivan Kizimov and Ivan Kalita became silver medalists in team dressage competitions. In Moscow in 1980, the USSR mixed team - Vera Misevich, Yuri Kovshov and Viktor Ugryumov - won gold.

In equestrian eventing, women were among the winners for the first time in 1984. American Karen Stives and Englishwoman Virginia Holgate took second and third places. In Athens 2004, Kimberly Severson (USA) was second, Philippa Funnell (Great Britain) third. The first medalist in show jumping in 1972 was Englishwoman Anne Moore; only three women managed to win Olympic medals.

The London 2012 Olympics was a new victory for women's sports. Women's boxing appeared there for the first time, and now there is not a single sport left (if you look at the federations) where both male and female athletes are not represented.

A hijab-wearing athlete at the 1997 Olympics

As for winter sports, at the first two Olympics women competed in only one event - figure skating. In 1932, women's speed skating was introduced as a demonstration sport. In another representative event of this Olympics - sled dog racing, a lady, Eva Sealey, performed together with men. She took last, 12th place. In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, for the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, medals were played in alpine skiing, and two types appeared at once, men's and women's combinations. At the 1948 St. Moritz Games, women competed, like men, in three types of alpine skiing. In 1956, women were allowed to compete in cross-country skiing for the first time, and Lyubov Kozyreva became the first champion in history. Since 1960, they began performing in speed skating, and since 1964 - in luge. Since 1998, women's hockey and curling have been represented, and since 1992, women's biathlon. Women's bobsleigh and skeleton were the last sports to be included in the Winter Olympics program - in 2002. At Sochi 2014, women's ski jumping appeared.

The current Olympic Games are very different from the ancient games, however, probably the most important difference between the games is that during the ancient games women could not only take part, but also observe the competitions.

With the development of humanity and society, this ban has lost its relevance, and women now compete on an equal basis with men for the title of Olympic champions.

The modern Olympic Games have their history since 1896. 311 athletes from 11 countries took part in this Olympics, and not a single woman, but there were many of them on the podium. It wasn't until 1900 that the Olympic Games included women's participation in equestrian, sailing, golf, tennis and croquet for the first time. However, women were only included in the team in 1981.

During the ancient Olympic Games, women were prohibited from doing anything there, but an exception was made only for the priestesses of the goddess Demeter (goddess of fertility). If a woman was found in the stadium during the Games, then, according to the law of those times, she was thrown from a high cliff into the abyss. But one day this rule was broken. There are 2 versions of how a woman began to take part in the Olympic Games.

1. A woman whose husband, brother and father were Olympic champions, training her son, and wanting to see him perform at the Olympic Games, snuck into the games in the form of a coach. She changed into men's trainer's clothes and stood next to the trainers, watching her son with excitement. And when her son was announced as an Olympic champion, what she had been waiting for so stubbornly and for a long time, and because of all the worries, she could not stand it and ran out onto the field. She ran across the entire field to her son to be the first to congratulate him on his honorable victory. On the way, her men's clothes fell off, and everyone saw that there was a woman in the stadium. The judges were in a difficult position. According to the law, it was necessary to kill her, but she is a wife, sister and daughter, and besides, now she is also the mother of Olympic champions! And therefore, for the fact that she was the wife and mother of champions, she was spared, but from that day on a new Olympic rule was introduced - now in the stadium, not only athletes, but also their coaches must be present on the field completely naked to prevent such situations in future.

2. A woman named Kalipateria, who was the wife and mother of Olympic champions, decided to participate in a running competition. She was identified and, according to the law, sentenced to death - she was to be thrown from a cliff into the abyss. But the judges pardoned her. After this incident, all athletes were required to perform naked at the games in order to avoid a repetition of this situation.

The modern Olympic Games differ in many ways from the ancient games, but perhaps the most important difference between the games is that during the ancient games women were prohibited not only from taking part, but also from observing the competitions. But history shows that any ban affects the most historical and significant events in history. With the development of humanity and society, this ban has lost its relevance; women now compete on an equal basis with men for the title of Olympic champions, although each in his own circle.

The modern Olympic Games began their history in 1896; 311 athletes from 11 countries took part in this Olympics, and not one woman, although there were more than enough of them on the podium. Only in 1900, at the Olympic Games, women took part for the first time in competitions in equestrian and sailing, golf, tennis and croquet. At the same time, women joined the IOC only in 1981.

So, during the ancient Olympic Games, women were categorically forbidden not only to take part in the Olympic Games, but even to observe the progress of the games. An exception in ancient times was made only for the priestesses of the goddess Demeter (goddess of fertility). If a woman was found in the stadium during the Games, according to the current law of those times, she had to be thrown from a high cliff. And only once was this rule broken. There are two versions of when a woman once snuck into the Olympic Games. The history of science is foggy.....

First version: A woman whose husband, brother and father were Olympic champions, training her own son, and wanting to see him perform at the Olympic Games, snuck into the games in the form of a coach. The coaches were present on the field separately, they watched their players. To avoid being identified as a woman who dared to break the ancient law, she changed into men's trainer's clothes and stood next to the trainers, watching her son with excitement. And when her son was announced as an Olympic champion, what she had been waiting for so stubbornly and for a long time, and because of all the worries, she could not stand it and ran out onto the field. She ran across the entire field to her son to be the first to congratulate him on such an honorable victory. On the way, her men's clothes fell off, and everyone saw that there was a woman in the stadium. The judges were in a very difficult position. According to the law, it was necessary to kill her, but she is a wife, sister and daughter, and besides, now she is also the mother of Olympic champions! And therefore, for the fact that she was the wife and mother of champions, she was spared, but from that day on a new Olympic rule was introduced - now at the stadium, not only athletes, but also their coaches must be present on the field completely naked in order to prevent such situations in future.

Second version: A woman, her name was Kalipateria, being the wife and mother of Olympic champions, she decided to participate in a running competition. She was identified and, according to the law, sentenced to death - the brave athlete was obliged to throw her from a cliff into the abyss. But, given that Kalipateria’s husband was an Olympic champion, and her sons were winners in youth competitions, the judges pardoned her. But the panel of judges obliged athletes to perform naked at games in the future in order to avoid a repetition of such a situation.

It should be noted, and to dispel the myth, that women during ancient times were not allowed to participate in sports competitions at all. On the contrary, girls in Ancient Greece were by no means averse to sports, and they loved to compete. Therefore, games were held dedicated to the wife of Zeus - Hera. Only girls took part in these competitions, which, by the way, men were not allowed to participate in. They competed in running, wrestling and chariot racing, which took place in the same stadium a month before or a month after the male athletes competed.

Keeping a home, giving birth to children and preparing borscht - as practice shows, this is not all that women can do. Fighting in the ring, scoring goals and setting world records: all this is subject to the fair, but not the weaker, sex. Today he will talk about the history of the development of women's sportsAmateur. media.
This is Sparta!
The development of women's sports began, of course, back in antiquity. For example, the ancient Spartans paid a lot of attention to the physical development of girls, because, as they believed, the body of the expectant mother should be strong enough to endure future childbirth. Girls practiced running and wrestling from childhood.

Spartan girls practiced running and wrestling from childhood

True, women were forbidden to take part in the Olympic Games, and also to watch them - after all, the athletes mostly performed naked. But the women had their own competitions: the Heraian Games, in honor of Zeus’ wife Hera. They were held at the same time as the Olympics, that is, from about the 8th century BC, once every 4 years.

Sportswomen on an antique bas-relief

The Hundred Years' War for Places on the Field

Women's football, one of the most famous women's sports, has an interesting history. It took almost 100 years for women's football to achieve real recognition! It all started in England, where the British Lady Football Club was founded in 1895. In the same year, the first women's football match took place, where the northerners defeated the southerners with a score of 7:1. It was not a toy sport, the matches attracted a decent number of spectators.

It took 100 years for women's football to gain recognition

Football gained particular popularity among women during the First World War. It was then that many young girls had to go to work in factories, and this hard work not only spoiled their health, but also undermined the psyche of young English women. Social workers were ordered to organize the girls' leisure time, and, oddly enough, after dancing and swimming, football enjoyed the greatest success. The ladies happily hit the leather sword, and the stands were never empty. But all the funds raised from ticket sales went to charitable purposes, so women’s football failed to grow into a big sport. In addition, in 1921 the English Football Association banned the organization of women's football teams.

In the early 70s, the Italian Women's League organized 2 unofficial "World Cups" in women's football. In 1971, the FA created a women's committee, but it did not last long. However, in 1991, the first Women's World Cup took place, and almost 65 thousand spectators attended the final match! And in 1996, women's football became an Olympic sport.

Fight club

Women's boxing, like football, appeared in England around the 20s of the 18th century. True, boxers were not considered serious athletes, and fights between women were sometimes even stopped by the police. In 1904, men's boxing became part of the Olympic sports, but for a long time women's pain was only for demonstration: women entered the ring and showed their flexibility, grace and femininity. But the women were not happy with this state of affairs: they literally fought for their right to enter the ring. It wasn't until the 1970s that women's fighting was sanctioned and a four-round fight was introduced. In 2001, one of the most famous fights in the history of women’s boxing took place: the daughters of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Leila and Jackie, fought in the ring. Jackie won. And in 2012, women's boxing was recognized as an Olympic discipline.

Women's boxing appeared in England in the 18th century

Coward does not play hockey

It’s hard to say with certainty when the first ever women’s hockey match took place. The NHL says that in 1889, in Ottawa, women first picked up sticks and took to the ice to compete for the puck. The Canadian Hockey Association believes it happened in 1892 in Barrie. Be that as it may, at the end of the 19th century, women's hockey began to gain momentum. By the 1920s, it became especially popular in the USA and Canada, where they even created university hockey teams for girls. Is it true. During World War II, women's hockey almost disappeared, and the stick and puck became attributes of an exclusively male sport.

The NHL says women first picked up sticks in 1889

The revival of women's hockey began only in the 60s, when women's leagues began to appear and the first tournaments were held. Later, in 1987, the first international women's ice hockey tournament was held, and in 1990 the first World Championship! Then Canada won, firmly establishing itself in this place for many years. And in 1998, what everyone had been waiting for for so long happened: women's ice hockey was recognized as an Olympic sport!

Women's Games

Alice Milieu played a major role in the development of women's sports. It was she who organized the first World Women's Games in Paris in 1922. Women competed in athletic sports, and the championship was a success. This was followed by 4 more Olympics, and then Millie risked appealing to the International Olympic Committee, demanding that women's sports be excluded from the program of the traditional Olympic Games. True, negotiations with the International Sports Federations did not lead to anything, and Millier’s request was rejected. The last Women's Games were held in London in 1934.

Ekaterina Astafieva