THE LADIES' GAME

Women have been competing at the Olympics almost as long as the modern Games have existed. The 1896 Olympics in Athens were male only...but in 1900, women arrived in Paris to compete -- and win.
The first female Olympian – and first female gold medalist! -- was Helene de Pourtales of Switzerland, a member of a winning sailing team.
The only individual female sports that time were tennis and golf, and women distinguished themselves in both. Britain’s Charlotte Cooper won women’s singles tennis, the first female champion. On the golf side, Chicago’s Margaret Abbott and her mother, Mary, both competed in the tournament, and Margaret won.
They’re still the only mother and daughter to compete against each other in the same Olympic event.
Unfortunately, the United States’ first female Olympic gold medalist didn’t go home with a medal, but rather a gilded porcelain bowl. Even worse, neither Abbott nor her family realized she was actually an Olympian. Women’s athletics were so undervalued at the time that Abbott lived and died believing she’d just taken part in an ordinary golf tournament. It wasn’t until an historian combing over the records of early Olympics turned up the truth that the Abbott family found out what a trailblazer she had been.
Later women athletes at least had the minimal dignity of knowing they were part of an Olympic team, though well into the 20th century, and sometimes beyond, they were treated differently than male competitors. Often, they were strictly chaperoned in the Olympic Village, when they were allowed to stay there at all, and held to standards of “ladylike” behavior their male counterparts could never imagine. Sometimes they were sent to official or unofficial charm schools so they could more “suitably” represent their countries.
Their outfits, in and out of competition, drew scrutiny and sometimes, their looks were part of the draw for their events. That, by the way, has not been consigned to the dustbin of history. You may remember the controversy at the last games over some women volleyball players demanding to wear loose shirts and shorts instead of the snug little outfits their committee had picked for them.
The sexism was clear because there was no similar expectation for male athletes. If we’re going to put beautiful fit bodies on display (fine by me, as long as the owners of those bodies don’t mind) it should be ALL beautiful fit bodies, not just those belonging to one gender.
Women athletes weren’t just treated differently. For most of Olympic history, they were even spoken of differently. Well into the 21st century, some sports were still called “ladies” competitions. Figure skating, for example, only became a WOMEN’s competition at the 2022 Games.
Even when women made history, there were questions. The first Women’s Marathon, in Los Angeles in 1984, was a very big deal, even though women had been running marathons for years. But not just for the fossils who didn’t think they belonged in the Olympics. A whole generation of little girls was inspired by watching the women cross the finish line and defy expectations.
I was one of them. I remember sitting in my living room in Western Pennsylvania, seeing those strong, fast, determined women, thinking: “Wow. If they let girls do that, maybe we really CAN do anything!”
It's this year's athletes’ turn to shine now...and to show today’s girls yes, we do indeed do that. Sometimes the Olympic victory really does lie in the noble competition.

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