Women and the Olympics

Women outnumber men on the U.S. Olympic Team 269 to 261.

Not only has the number of women participants  increased, but also the number of sports in which women can compete have increased.  The Olympics started with 19 women competing in two sports — tennis and golf — in the 1900 Olympics in Paris.  The 1970′s (after Title IX) saw a big increase in the numbers of women competing in the Olympics.  Basketball became an event for women in 1976.  1984 was the first cycling event for women and Gymnastics came in 1952.  The first women’s Soccer game was played in 1996 and wrestling in 2004. Boxing was the last event added for women — in 1908.   In 1991, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that any new sport introduced for the Olympic program had to include both men’s and women’s events.