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Paris 2024: The first gender-equal Olympics

Strides forward for women in the Olympics

Paris 2024 marks the first-ever gender-equal Olympic Games – the first time there have been 50% female and 50% male athletes competing since the modern Olympics began in 1896.

To celebrate this milestone (although we agree this should not have taken 128 years) we want to recognise the female athletes who have helped break boundaries and driven the successes of women’s sport.

Throughout this summer’s games we will be sharing the medal tally by country. But ours’ will be a little different, we will be showcasing how many medals have been won by female vs male athletes. The big question is will that alter the overall rankings?

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A monumental milestone

This year also marks a monumental milestone for Women in Sport – our 40th anniversary. For four decades, we have championed the rights of women and girls by breaking barriers and challenging their exclusion from sport.

2024 also commemorates 40 years since women were first allowed to run the Olympic Marathon, a victory achieved after nearly 100 years of persistent campaigning.

There have been significant strides made in the last forty years, but we know there is still a long way to go to achieve absolute and sustainable parity in sport for women and girls from elite to grassroots, athletes to coaches.

Joan Benoit winning the first ever women's Olympic marathon

Home page image: Luca Dugaro on Unsplash

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Woman aged 50-60 playing badminton

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Welcome to The Women in Sport podcast! The podcast brings together insight, advice and expertise from across the sector.