USAT Women's Commission:  Info, March 2001, #1

 
WCHome--Commission--Activities--Forum--Stories--News--Judy--USAT--Links--SiteMap

  History of Women in MultiSport**
News/Info

 

776 B.C. - The first Olympics are held in ancient Greece. Women are excluded, so they compete every four years in their own Games of Hera, to honor the Greek goddess who ruled over women and the earth

1896 - Women are buying 25-30% of all new bicycles.

1896 - Susan B. Anthony says that "the bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women than anything else in the world."

1900 - The first 19 women to compete in the modern Olympics Games in Paris, France, play in just three sports: tennis, golf, and croquet. Margaret I. Abbott is the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. An art student in Paris, she won the nine-hole golf tournament by shooting a 47.

1946 - Alice Coachman becomes the first woman of color to be a member of the US All-American Track and Field Team. By 1948, 9 of 12 members of the women's team would be black.

1972 - Congress passes Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program or activities receiving Federal financial assistance.” When President Nixon signs the act on July 23 about 31,000 women are involved in college sports; spending on athletic scholarships for women is less than $100,000; and the average number of women's teams at a college is 2.1.

1972 AAU changes the rules of the Boston Marathon, letting women run with official numbers for the first time.

1974  Mission Bay Triathlon, a race consisting of segments of running, bicycle riding, and swimming, of 6 miles of running (longest continuous stretch, 2.8 miles), 5 miles of bicycle riding (all at once), and 500 yards of swimming (longest continuous stretch, 250 yards).

February 1978 1st  Hawaii Ironman

In the ‘80’s less than 10% of the field were women. Today, women are celebrating increased numbers as follows:              
February 1998  23.9% women     76.1% men
January 2000    25.4% women     74.6% men

By participation % wise for women:
Sprint   26%      Olympic   23%   Long   14%   Ultra   12%   

**Pieces of this article were derived from:
St. Lawrence County Branch,American Association of
University Women
http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/timeline.htm
They also cover many aspect of women in sports at the following site:
http://www.northnet.org/stlawrenceaauw/sports.htm

Also see Women's Sports Foundation:: 
http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/templates/index.html for more history of women in sport

  top

For more information on USA Triathlon's Women's Commission, please contact: Sherri Wattenbarger, co- chair 2005, at Sherri.Wattenbarger@usdoj.gov or Ashley Rosilier, co-chair 2005, at ashley@rungearrun.com.  If you are interested in a position within the Women's Commission for 2005or would like to organize a specific women's-oriented program, please email one of us with details as soon as possible.