Female competitors come very close to equality at the games. But Tokyo still highlights ongoing sexism and discrimination
Strength, resilience and determination make sportswomen champions in the field. The same qualities are ensuring that more of them get there. Banned from the first modern Olympics, in 1896, only 22 competed among almost 1,000 athletes at the next games in Paris. This year Britain, the US and China have all sent more women than men to Tokyo, and overall, the number of female competitors has almost reached parity with male at last, at 48.8%.
The Games are a rare sporting realm in which women come very close to equality. Most gold medallists will receive the same financial reward from their country whether male or female. Over the years, female Olympians such as Nadia Comăneci and Jackie Joyner-Kersee have enjoyed instant name recognition and drawn spectators, just as male athletes have. Women’s events are valued in their own right.