Paving the Way Towards Equality⛰️

The Journey of Women in the Olympics (1896–2024)

Feng Brandon | CowB Media

The evolution of women’s participation in the Olympics is not just a story of athletic achievement but also a reflection of global social progress in the field of today’s debatable topic— gender. Tracing back to 1896, women were not allowed to participate in the inaugural modern Olympics. However, with the world’s evolution and social revolutions, women’s participation has grown steadily, from approximately 8.4% among athletes in the 1936 Games to nearly 48.8% by Tokyo 2020. This skyrocketing trend symbolizes the broader struggles and victories in gender equity. With Paris 2024 marking the first Olympics in history to feature equal numbers of male and female athletes, this offers a timely opportunity to examine how far the Olympic Games and society have come. Therefore, this topic carries strong news values such as timeliness, importance, and magnitude. The project aims to evaluate whether gender equality has been achieved, also to identify persistent disparities, and discuss the momentum towards gender-balanced competition on a world stage.

The analysis is based on a detailed dataset from Kaggle, originally compiled by Stefany De Oliveira, titled “Summer Olympics Medals (1896–2024)”. This dataset tracks the Summer Olympic Games from the first Olympics in Athens in 1896 up to the 2024 Paris Olympics. It includes records of athletes, their performances, and medal results, providing insights into trends, country achievements, and changes in sports over time. 

Question to Answer

  1. How has gender equality in Olympic athlete participation evolved from 1896 to 2024?

  2. Which Olympic sports have shown balanced vs. unequal gender participation since 1992?

  3. Which countries achieved gender balance at the 2024 Olympics, and where are they located globally?

  4. Which countries had the lowest percentage of female athletes at Paris 2024?

  5. Which female Olympians have won the most gold medals for their country?

  6. Which countries have shown the fastest growth in supporting female Olympians since 2000?

Summary of the Finding

From Invisible to Indispensable: Women Rise in the Olympics

The stacked bar chart shows the number of Olympic athletes from 1896 to 2024, broken down by gender, with males in light blue and females in pink.

At the start in 1896, women were completely absent. The entire athlete population was male. Through the early decades (1900s to 1950s), it is clear to see that the tiny pink slivers appear, showing that while women were finally allowed to participate, they made up less than 5–10% of the total.

However, starting in the 1970s, the data reveals a consistent upward trend. By 1996, women accounted for 34% of all competitors, with more than 3,500 female athletes participating thanks to social progress, feminist movements, and changes in Olympic policies.

Female participation further surged from 38.2% in 2000 to 47.8% by Tokyo 2020. At Paris 2024, women now stand nearly equal to men — marking the first Olympics with a near 50–50 gender split.

Only 28% of Olympic Cyclists Are Women

Despite progress across much of the Olympic program, cycling remains the least gender-balanced sport in the Games. From 1992 to 2024, women represented just 28.3% of all competitors in Olympic cycling events — the lowest share across any discipline.

The gap is not marginal: over 1,460 fewer women participated compared to men during that period. This persistent shortfall reflects deeper structural barriers, including unequal access to development programs, fewer competitive opportunities, and historically male-dominated governance in the sport.

By contrast, other high-participation sports have moved closer to parity. Swimming, for instance, achieved 47.5% female participation among nearly 8,000 athletes. Athletics, the largest Olympic sport by volume, saw women make up 43.5% of over 18,000 participants.

Team sports offer further evidence of progress. Handball and hockey have reached roughly 47% female representation, illustrating how policy changes, investment, and institutional support can shift the balance.

Gender Balance at Paris 2024: Progress, But Gaps Remain

A global snapshot of the Paris 2024 Olympics reveals clear momentum toward gender equity. Pink countries show delegations where women make up 45%–55% of athletes. Gray countries still fall short. Only nations with 30+ athletes were included for a fair comparison.

31 Countries Achieved Balance

  • Europe leads, with Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Slovenia, and Switzerland setting the standard.

  • North America follows, with U.S. and Canada both hitting the benchmark.

  • Colombia shines in South America;

  • Ethiopia and Kenya stand out in Africa;

  • Japan, Thailand, and South Korea show gains in Asia.

  • New Zealand maintains leadership in Oceania.

Slovenia: A Perfect 50/50 Split

  • 47 male and 47 female athletes — a rare perfect balance.

  • Other near-equal teams include Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Germany (49.2%–50.5% female).

  • Large delegations, including France, U.S., and Great Britain still managed to achieve gender balance.

Uneven Teams, Uneven Dreams: Where the Gap Runs Deep？

While the growing swaths of pink on the global map highlight Olympic teams making strides toward gender balance, large areas of gray remind us how far many countries still lag behind. To further understand this imbalance, we turn to another perspective: which countries had the lowest percentage of female athletes at the 2024 Olympics?

The dumbbell chart below highlights 15 countries with the lowest share of female athletes at the 2024 Olympics. Each country is represented by two dots—pink for the % of female athletes, blue for male—connected by a gradient line. The darker the orange, the more severe the gap.

🇭🇷 Croatia tops the list, where only 20.5% of the Olympic team were women—a nearly 4:1 ratio. This extreme imbalance is visualized with the darkest red line. Other countries with sharp disparities include 🇦🇷Argentina (23.1%), 🇮🇷Iran (26.8%), and 🇲🇦Morocco (29.5%). 

Others, like 🇮🇳India (41.1%) and 🇦🇿Azerbaijan (41.7%), fall just short, with narrower gaps shown in lighter shades. Countries such as 🇩🇿Algeria still display moderate imbalances.

Judging from this, even as Paris 2024 marks the most gender-equal Olympics in history, uneven teams still reflect uneven dreams. For many countries, the road to true parity remains long and uncertain.

Rising Nations, Rising Women

The pink-and-gray map shows where things stand today, and the gap chart makes clear how far some countries still have to go. But it’s also worth asking: who’s actually moved the needle? Which countries have pushed gender equality forward—not just in 2024, but over time?

The faceted line chart focuses on ten countries that had at least 50 female athletes in 2000 and have since shown the fastest average growth in female Olympic representation.

🇫🇷 France leads the group with the most dramatic increase. In 2000, it sent 125 female athletes; by 2024, that number had grown to 295—an average increase of 22.7% per Olympic cycle. 🇵🇱 Poland also shows a strong trajectory, doubling its female athlete count from around 60 in 2000 to 125 in 2024. The 🇳🇱 Netherlands follows a similar path, with steady growth from under 90 to about 165, especially after 2012.

🇪🇸Spain’s pattern is more dynamic: starting at around 115 athletes, dipping slightly around 2012, then surging to nearly 200 by 2024. 🇯🇵 Japan also demonstrates strong overall growth, climbing from around 110 in 2000 to nearly 280 by 2020, even with a slight drop in the most recent Games.

🇮🇹 Italy and 🇧🇷Brazil both show consistent upward trends. Italy grew from 110 to over 185, while Brazil made sharper gains between 2012 and 2016, then stabilized. 🇨🇦Canada and 🇨🇳China, both starting above 150 female athletes in 2000, have sustained high levels of participation with modest increases. Even smaller delegations like 🇳🇿 New Zealand have made solid gains, from around 70 in 2000 to over 110 in 2020.

The Most Decorated Women in Olympic History

So far, we’ve seen which countries are showing up for gender balance and which ones are putting in the long-term work to grow their female Olympic presence. But behind the numbers lies something even more fascinating: the women who turned opportunity into legacy.

Now, it’s time to spotlight the athletes who’ve done more than just compete—they’ve made history.

At the very top of this honor roll stands Larysa Latynina the legendary Soviet gymnast. With an astounding nine Olympic gold medals, she set a record for female athletes that remains unmatched, dominating her era with extraordinary skill and grace.

Following closely behind are Lisa Carrington of New Zealand, a kayaking champion and Jennifer Thompson, of the United States, a swimming icon. Each has won eight Olympic golds, achievements that stand as brilliant testaments to their dominance in their respective sports.

But the list of legends does not end there. Other outstanding champions include: Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia, a gymnastics star who captured six gold medals. Svetlana Romashina of Russia, a synchronized swimming queen, also with six golds.

A further group of exceptional athletes have each secured five Olympic gold medals, including:

• Maria Vezzali, Italy’s fencing legend 🇮🇹

• Chen Ruolin, China’s diving superstar 🇨🇳

• Emma McKeon, Australia’s swimming sensation 🇦🇺

• Kristin Otto, East Germany’s swimming icon 🇩🇪

• Birgit Fischer-Schmidt, Germany’s canoeing great 🇩🇪

Each of these women has dominated her discipline, standing at the very summit of excellence, and forging a golden era for women in sport through sheer talent, perseverance, and vision.

Here lies a clear message to the world:

Gender equality is not simply about balancing participation numbers. True equality is about enabling women to fully realize and showcase their talents on the world stage.

From being sidelined to standing on the podium, they’ve shown that:

It’s not just about being present;

It’s about leaving an indelible mark.

That’s where real progress comes alive!