1900 olympic games women

In , the European Commission defended equality in sport, and the IOC added gender parity to the Olympics agenda. There was therefore no need to formally exclude feminine athletes, because their absence went without saying: they were not thought of, because they were unthinkable. The first games were held in without them, to their great discontent. Despite the misogynous opposition of its founder, which was widespread throughout Europe, the Paris Games included 22 women French, Belgian, Italian, Russian, etc.

The British tennis player Charlotte Cooper was the first woman to win a gold medal. Participation was nonetheless limited to so-called feminine sports, the former leisure activities of the aristocracy tennis, sailing, croquet, horseriding, figure skating ; these protected femininity and fertility, but also respected decency and avoided any kind of strenuous or sustained effort, a requirement that was incompatible with high-level sports.

The world champion for figure skating, the Briton Madge Syers , was thus wearing a skirt that ran to her mid-calf when she was awarded the individual gold medal and the bronze couples medal with her husband in London in Her compatriots also distinguished themselves, notably the archer Queenie Newall , who finished first among 25 participants from Britain, France, and the United States.

Despite popular fervour, the organizers of the Olympic games still limited feminine presence. In , the International Olympic Committee IOC , which consisted entirely of men, refused the feminization of the showpiece events of track and field during the Antwerp games. Create a personalised ads profile.

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List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Jennifer Rosenberg Jennifer Rosenberg. Jennifer Rosenberg is a historian and writer who specializes in 20th-century history. Learn about our Editorial Process.

Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Rosenberg, Jennifer. History of the Olympics in Paris. History of the Olympics in Los Angeles. History of the Olympics in Rome, Italy. Mexico City: The Summer Olympics. Interesting, the Olympic Games did not award medals for first, second, and third place; only first and second. The IOC retroactively has gone back and awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals for first, second, and third place accordingly.

Charlotte Cooper was one of the best female tennis players Britain had produced. By the time the Olympics rolled around she had already won three Wimbledon titles. Lawn Tennis had two events women could compete in, women singles and mixed doubles.

Charlotte entered both and won the gold medal in both, always playing in ankle length skirts as was the dress code for the era. Her doubles partner was Reginald Doherty. She would go on to win two more Wimbledon titles and played competitively into her fifties. Seven other women competed in tennis that year. She died in never realizing she had competed in what was considered an Olympic golf tournament and the she had won Gold.

She and her mother were among ten women playing golf that year. The Games would be the first and only time Croquet was an official sport in Olympics. None of the women placed in the top three. However, some believe that she was the owner of the yacht, and therefore her listing as winner was as the owner, not an actual competitor. And probably one of the least known, but arguably most fascinating, competitors from the Paris Olympics was Italian horse-rider Elvira Guerra. She was the daughter of an Italian circus owner and began her equestrian career in the Big Ring as a ballerina horse rider.

She finished ninth place in the Hacks and Hunter combined event, which is pretty much just riding a horse according to this blog.