www.olympic.org - Site Officiel du Mouvement Olympique

Sydney 2000
Rieko MATSUNAGA (JPN)
© S. Botterill/Getty

It was during the 1970s that the increase of women participating in the Games became more significant, reflecting the increased awareness of the positive contribution that sport can make to the well-being of women and the development of women's sports clubs and associations around the world.

For its part, the IOC expanded the programme of events open to women at the Olympic Games, in cooperation with the International Sports Federations and the Organising Committees. In 1991, it was also decided that any new sport seeking to be included in the Olympic programme had to include women's events. The 2000 Sydney Games marked a real milestone in the achievements of women and sport. Many "firsts" occurred on this occasion, whose success is worth celebrating.

At the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens in 2004, women competed in 26 sports (out of 28) and 135 events, or 45% of the total number of events. Women represented 40.7% of the total number of athletes competing, a record in our history.

This progress on the field is also the result of various national sports policies and of National Olympic Committees taking advantage of Olympic Solidarity programmes and scholarships to improve their performances.

• Read the Evolution of women's participation in the Olympic Games
• Read the new Women's Sports on the Olympic Programme
• Discover Women's firsts from the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney
• Read the Report: Women participation at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, Athens 2004, Statistics

"100 YEARS OF WOMEN AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES"

Watch this short film covering a century of history of women at the Olympic Games. From British tennis player Charlotte Cooper, the first female champion at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900, to the stars of the end of the last century, the film recounts how women have made a place for themselves within the Olympic Movement.

• Watch the video

"HEROINES OF THE GAMES"

Watch a film on the history of the athletes who paved the way for an exponential development in women's sport. Among others, the video gives the example of Anita DeFrantz (USA), IOC member and Chairwoman of the IOC Women and Sport Commission. Anita DeFrantz has worked for many years to enable women to enjoy equal opportunities within the sports world.

• Watch the video