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1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics featured the first 19 women to compete in the modern Olympics Games in Paris, France; however, they were only able to play in three sports. The three sports that women were able to compete in included: tennis, golf, and croquet. Margaret I. Abbott is the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. The event was golf and she won the nine-hole golf tournament by scoring a 47. -
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Women in Sports
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Helene Britton
From 1911-1916 Helene Britton became the first woman to own a Major League Baseball team when she acquired the St. Louis Cardinals after the death of her late uncle, Stanley Robison. She took an active role in running her ballclub, just as she did as a suffragette in the women’s right movement. After seven seasons as the clubs owner, Britton sold the team. In 1917, she remarried and relocated to Philadelphia where she passed away at the age of 71. -
Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfield
In the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Bobbie Rosenfield earned a gold medal in the 4x100 relay and a silver medal in the 100-yard dash. Bobbie was not only known for her Olympic performance but also as an overall well balanced athlete. Until 1933, Bobbie was a symbol of Canadian women's sport. She participated in Canadian ice hockey, track, basketball, and softball teams. She was named Canada's Female Athlete of the First Half-Century (1900–1950). -
Alice Marble
In the 1939 Wimbledon Championships, Alice Marble won the Singles title, the Women's Doubles title and the Mixed Doubles title. Alice was included in the year-end Top Ten rankings issued by the United States Lawn Tennis Association from 1936 to 1940. She made her way into becoming the top ranked player of the years of (1936-1940). As a result of her success, Alice Marble was also named the Associated Press (AP) Athlete of the Year in for two consecutive years (1939,1940). -
Wlma Rudolph
Wilma Rudolph 200m 1960
In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Wilma became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in the Olympics. She won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and ran the anchor on the 400-meter relay team. Her success caused gender barriers to be broken in previously all-male track and field events. Wilma retired from track and field in 1962 at the age of twenty-two. -
Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb
On Patriots day of the year 1966, Roberta Gibb became the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon, which she also completed in the next two years. She finished 126th out of approximately five hundred runners with a time of three hours, twenty-one minutes, and forty seconds. At the time of the race she hid her identity by wearng a sweatshirt but when she was encouraged by the male spectators she got the courage to take off her sweat clothes to reveal that she was indeed a woman. -
Billie Jean King U.S. Open
Evert vs King 1971 USO
In 1971, Billie Jean King became the first woman athlete to win more than $100,000 in a single season in any sport. She was also the only woman to have won U.S. singles titles on grass, clay, carpet and hard court. During the event, Billie Jean King defeated Rosemary Casals 6–4, 7–6 in the finals to win the Women's Singles title at the 1971 U.S. Open. The year of 1971 was her best in her career. -
Title IX
On June 23, 1972 Congress passed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which stated: “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." The concept was originally brought to Congress by Congress woman Patsy Mink.Since implementing the law, participation for girls in sports increased as much as 300%. -
Battle of the Sexes
Tennis Battle of the Sexes
After Title IX was passed by Congress in 1972, Billie Jean King won the "battle-of-the-sexes" tennis match against Bobby Riggs on September 20th in Houston, Texas. In total, King won $100,000 in a winner take all match. King's feat inspired millions of women to demand equal rights, equal treatment, and equal pay. It is estimated that over 90 million people watch the event and 30,472 people were in attendance. -
Alison Nicholas wins the U.S. Open
Alison Nicholas won the U.S. Open by carding a 10–under-par 274, which was the lowest winning score in the tournament's 52–year history for both men and women. Due to all of her success, Alison became the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year, was awarded The Association of Golf Writers Trophy, and was voted LET Players' Player of the Year in 1997. -
Kelly and Coco Miller wins James E. Sullivan Award
On April 6, 1999 identical twins Kelly and Coco Miller won the James E. Sullivan Award; the first time in its history that it was awarded to two student athletes. During the 1999 season, the Miller twins led the UGA Lady Bulldogs to the NCAA Women's Final Four. Both sisters majored in biology and had been academic All-Americans for their last two years at the University of Georgia. -
2001 U.S. Open Women's Singles Finals
Venus Williams v. Serena Williams 2001 US Open
The Williams sisters battled for the single's title in the U.S. Open. In fact, it was the first women's tennis final televised in prime time. Venus won her second consecutive US Open title, beating Serena 6-2, 6-4. Nearly 23 million people watched the match. -
Laura Dekker
Laura Dekker Around the World Sailor
On January 2012, Dutch sailor Laura Dekker became the youngest person to sail around the world at the age of sixteen. She began her journey by leaving the Gibraltar on January 20, 2011 and finished when she arrived in Simpson Bay on Sint Maarten on 21 January 2012. Dekker beat the previous record by eight months. Her seventeenth birthday is in September. -
NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
On April 3, 2012 Brittney Griner led Baylor's Lady Bears to winning the NCAA Championship with 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in a 80-61 victory over Notre Dame. The Lady Bears finished the season undefeated with by winning 40-0, the best in its school's history. In particular, Griner won the 2012 AP player of the year and defense player of the year for the third consecutive year (2010 ,2011, and 2012).
