Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult — Charlotte Whitton
Pierre de Coubertin would likely not agree with Whitton in her assessment of the worth of a woman but then the French aristocrat did not approve of women participating in sports either.
His legacy of the Olympic movement — conceived as a global sports meet to foster international understanding — did not include women, terming their presence as “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and incorrect”. That, however, hasn’t stopped them from owning the Olympic space as much as equal stakeholders in the 21st century as show-stoppers in their own right. And it hasn’t been an easy journey.
The first Modern Games at Athens had no women as decreed by Baron Coubertin. The 1900 edition saw 22, in four recognised events — ironically on Coubertin’s home turf, Paris — with two of them among medals. But if women thought their initial success would propel more inclusion, they were only partly right.
Reluctantly added Since then, every edition of the Games has seen women’s events added reluctantly but the athletes themselves relegated to the background, only to push their way ahead and set new records in the process. The 2012 edition saw women making up 44 per cent of the total participants and the numbers are expected to go up at Rio.
Consider this: Track and field events were first included for women in 1928 but there were no middle or long-distance races for women till 1960 because they were considered “too strenuous”. Shooting made the grade in 1984, as did marathon, and weightlifting only in 2000.
Athletes like Fanny Blankers-Koen received hate mail for not giving up sports after motherhood. Even now, the notions of feminism and the standardisation of what constitutes the definition of a woman remain controversial, as evidenced from the IAAF’s rules on hyperandrogenism. Saudi Arabia sent its first women to Olympics only in the previous edition, purely under pressure and on invitation.
Cut to the present, when almost every major participating nation has a woman superstar at the Olympics. It’s been a long, difficult road to traverse. The likes of Paula Radcliffe, Serena Williams, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Nicola Adams, Tamika Catchings, Missy Franklin, Amanda Weir, Allyson Felix, Adeline Gray, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Anna Meares and many more today not just grab more eyeballs but also shoulder their nation’s dreams as much as the men.
In team events, even sporting powerhouses like the USA (basketball) and Australia (hockey) put their faith in their women. Nadia Comaneci is the standard-bearer for perfection. For every Carl Lewis, there had been a Marion Jones who was an idol for millions before doping overshadowed her achievements. And even though Russia is fighting a ban, Yelena Isinbayeva remains the most recognised and loved Russian athlete across the world.
The Olympic Charter makes it clear that one of the roles of the IOC is “to encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures, with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women.”
That, however, did not happen till 2012 when boxing was included, making it the first edition to have a women’s competition in every sport on the Olympic programme.
Since 1991, all new sports seeking inclusion in the Olympic programme must have women’s events. Even today, the IOC only has 20 women members out of a total of 106.
At the 2012 Games, 50 of the 205 nations had women as the flag-bearers at the Opening Ceremony. Several of them, including Ireland’s Katie Taylor (boxing), Italy’s Valentina Vezzali (fencing), Argentina’s Luciana Aymar (hockey) and Russian Maria Sharapova (tennis) went on to win medals.
Baron Coubertin might be turning in his grave. But Helene de Pourtales, recorded as the first woman to win an Olympic medal (gold, no less, in sailing) and Charlotte Cooper, who did the same as an individual (in tennis), would definitely approve.
