Paris –
Once seen as a ‘celebration of masculine virtue’ with no female athletes, the modern Olympics will achieve gender parity for the first time at this year’s Paris Games, 128 years since the first edition.
When the ancient Greek event was revived by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin in the late 19th century, he saw it as a celebration of friendly athletics “with female applause as a reward”.
In 1924, the last time the Olympic Games were held in Paris, only 4% of participants were women and they were limited to sports deemed suitable for them, such as swimming, tennis and croquet.
