My Personal Story

As a little girl, I watched the Olympics from one country. Years later, after moving countries and even changing citizenships, I began cheering for every nation that had ever felt like home. The flags changed, my loyalty expanded, but my fascination with the Games remained constant – especially with figure skating and hockey (yes, cultural bias). In our home, the Olympics were sacred. I still have a small ceramic Misha the Bear, the official mascot of the 1980 Moscow Games, bought by my family. He sits on my shelf today, a reminder that the Olympics are about more than medals. They represent memory, identity, and belonging.

When I think about figure skating (which has always had my heart), I realize how much women have shaped the sport. From Sonja Henie’s early dominance to Midori Ito’s first Olympic triple Axel to Yuna Kim’s breathtaking precision to Michelle Kwan’s artistry to Tessa Virtue redefining ice dance, women haven’t just participated in figure skating; they’ve defined it. Today, with women landing triple Axels and even quad jumps, the technical boundaries keep expanding.

Honestly, what could feel more feminine than figure skating? I don’t mean feminine in a narrow, gendered sense. I mean the expressive, intuitive, powerful energy that exists in every human being, regardless of gender, paired with emotional intelligence, grace, and strength. In pairs and ice dance, especially, women don’t simply complement the performance; they anchor it. The lines, the musicality, the storytelling – without that energy, the performance wouldn’t feel complete. That’s one reason I’ve always been drawn to it. It feels like sport and art breathing together on the same sheet of ice.

The History of Women in the Olympics

Women have been part of the Olympic Games for over 100 years, but it wasn’t exactly a grand welcome. At the 1900 Paris Games, only 22 of 997 athletes were women, and they were limited to just five sports: tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrianism, and golf. At the first Winter Olympics in 1924, women made up only 4.3% of all athletes. Can you imagine?

But here’s what I love! Even in those tiny margins in 1900, history was happening. Hélène de Pourtalès, a Swiss-American sailor, became the very first female Olympic champion. Charlotte Cooper, a British tennis player, became the first woman to win an individual Olympic title. And then there’s Margaret Abbott. She became the first American woman to win a gold medal.  Apparently, she didn’t even realize she was competing in the Olympics at the time. How surreal is that? It’s kind of beautiful, actually. These women were just showing up, competing, doing their thing, but quietly changing history without even knowing how big it would become.

And progress came, step by step, sport by sport, like doors opening one at a time. Women’s archery was added in 1904. Aquatics came in 1912, athletics and gymnastics in 1928, skiing in 1936, but hockey not until 1980, and boxing only in 2012. That’s what made the London Olympics Games so symbolic – it was the first time women were finally competing in every single sport on the program. And since 1991, there has been a rule that any new sport wanting to join the Olympics must include women’s competitions. Just imagine – this one policy alone reshaped history, and the future looked completely different.

If you’re the kind of person who likes to see the bigger perspective (like I do), the IOC’s Women in the Olympic Movement factsheet (published last year before the most recent Games) gives an excellent perspective and insight on how women’s participation, leadership, and policies have evolved over time.

Women at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Now fast forward to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, and we see a remarkable historic shift: women made up approximately 47% of all athletes – an increase from 44.7% in 2022. When you remember that women were only 4.3% of participants back in 1900, and sprinted to nearly equal representation today, this feels almost surreal.

The 2026 Games expanded women’s participation in cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, ski jumping, and introduced new competitions such as ski mountaineering and dual moguls. For the first time ever, cross-country skiing featured equal distances for men and women, meaning equal endurance and equal stages.

Women’s Olympic achievements are nothing short of extraordinary.

Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier born in San Francisco and representing China, became a global star at Milan Cortina. She won three medals: one gold and two silvers. Li Fanghui, also from China, won silver, while Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin claimed bronze.

Elana Meyers Taylor’s story feels like something out of a movie. After years of competing at the highest level, she finally captured her long-awaited Olympic gold in women’s monobob. In doing so, she became the oldest U.S. woman to win a Winter Olympic medal and tied the legendary Bonnie Blair as the most decorated U.S. woman in Winter Olympic history. She now stands among only four U.S. Winter Olympians with six or more medals, which is pretty incredible on its own. But what makes it even more powerful is what she shared afterward. She said the reason she kept going and didn’t retire was her kids, and without them, she would have stopped long ago. Without them, she said, this gold medal wouldn’t exist. And that makes the win feel even more meaningful. Because now it’s not just about a medal, but also about being a mom, not giving up, and finding strength you didn’t even know you had.

Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin became the all-time leading goal scorer in women’s Olympic hockey history, reaching 20 career goals. And on the US side, captain Hilary Knight made history too, setting American records for both total goals and points. She scored a crucial goal in the gold medal game that pushed the match to overtime.  From there, the U.S. went on to win it all.

On home ice, Italy’s Arianna Fontana made history as the first woman to medal at six consecutive Winter Olympic Games. With 14 career medals, she is now the most decorated Italian Olympian and the most decorated short track skater ever. That kind of record isn’t just about talent – it’s about staying strong, focused, and committed year after year. Such a beautiful example of perseverance.

One of the moments that truly touched me in 2026 was seeing the first mother-and-son pair compete at the same Winter Olympics. Alpine skiers Sarah Schleper and her son, Lasse Gaxiola, represented Mexico – the mom raced in the women’s super-G and giant slalom, and the son competed in the men’s slalom. Just picture that for a second: a mom and her son standing at the same Olympic starting gate. It feels like parenting at its very best. And it’s not just cheering from the sidelines, but living the values of discipline, resilience, and love for sport side by side.

Mixed Events and Shifting Dynamics

Mixed-gender team events are becoming a bigger part of the Olympics, and I really love what they represent. In Milan, two U.S. gold medals and four total medals came from mixed-gender competitions. These events aren’t about men versus women. They symbolize something important: working together, shared effort, shared podiums, and victories. And honestly, that feels like a pretty healthy direction for sport, and maybe for the world too.

This isn’t just a Winter Games story. The Summer Olympics showed the same pattern. For four straight Summer Games, U.S. women have won more gold medals and more total medals than U.S. men. In Paris, women earned 65% of all U.S. gold medals and outpaced men, 68 to 52. Women are not simply participating – they are leading the way.

Remarkable Careers and Milestones

Beyond the current Olympics, one woman quietly set a record that speaks of a different kind of endurance. Nino Salukvadze from Georgia has competed in every Summer Olympics since Seoul 1988. Back then, she represented what was still the Soviet Union. After the USSR collapsed, Georgia had to rebuild itself through political upheaval, wars, economic instability, and the difficult process of defining its own national identity. In that context, staying present at the Olympics wasn’t just about sport. It meant visibility, resilience, and showing the world that Georgia is standing strong despite everything.

Nino’s career spanned an extraordinary 36 years, from 1988 to 2024. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, she became the first female athlete in history to compete in ten Games. This feels almost mythic to me. She first announced her retirement after the Tokyo Games in 2021, then returned for one final Olympic appearance in Paris to honor her father and longtime coach, Vakhtang. At 55, she closed a chapter that had outlasted political systems, generations of competitors, and even the country under which flag she first competed.

Ukrainian Women Who Made Me Cheer

When I think back to watching the Olympics growing up, two Ukrainian athletes stand out for me in a very personal way.

Oksana Baiul was huge for me. Her Olympic performance in Lillehammer in 1994 felt unforgettable. She was only 16 when she won gold, and there was something incredibly emotional about the way she skated. Ukraine had only recently become independent, and seeing her stand on the podium felt bigger than sport. It felt like a young country stepping onto the world stage.

Years later, Oksana moved to the United States and continued to perform professionally, but that Olympic moment still lives on in the memory of many fans.

Another athlete I remember cheering for was swimmer Yana Klochkova, often called the “Golden Fish of Ukraine.” Watching her races felt almost surreal. She dominated the individual medley events at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, winning four gold medals! Yana became the most decorated Olympian in Ukraine’s history. When she touched the wall first, it always felt inevitable, like watching someone completely in control of the water.

Ukraine has produced many other outstanding female Olympians. Olha Kharlan, one of the most decorated fencers of her era, has won multiple Olympic medals and world championships. In recent years, she has also become a symbol of Ukrainian resilience and bravery during challenging times.

And then there is Inessa Kravets, the 1996 Olympic champion in the triple jump. Her incredible jump of 15.50 meters stood as the world record for many years and remains one of the most impressive performances in athletics history.

Looking back, it’s funny how these athletes quietly shape our memories. When we’re children watching the Olympics, we may not realize it, but certain performances stay with us for decades.

Women in the Paralympics: Strength in a Different Form

If the Olympics show us what the human body can do at its peak, the Paralympics remind us what the human spirit can overcome. Some of the most inspiring female athletes today compete on the Paralympic stage.

Oksana Masters, who was born in Ukraine and later adopted by an American family, has become one of the most versatile Paralympians in history. She has won medals in rowing, cycling, cross-country skiing, and biathlon – something incredibly rare in elite sport.

American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden is another legend of the Paralympics, winning numerous gold medals and dominating major marathons worldwide.

Italy’s Beatrice “Bebe” Vio, a Paralympic fencing champion, has become a global symbol of resilience after returning to sport following a life-threatening illness.

And Iranian archer Zahra Nemati made history as the first Iranian woman to win Paralympic gold and one of the rare athletes to compete in both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

Watching the Paralympics always reminds me that sport isn’t only about medals or records. It’s about courage, reinvention, and the ability to keep moving forward.

A Few Fascinating Facts About Women in Olympic History

Since I’ve spent so many years watching the Games, here are a few facts I always find fascinating:

• The first female Olympic champion was Hélène de Pourtalès in sailing in 1900.
  • Figure skating was one of the first Olympic sports open to women, appearing in the Games in 1908.
  • Midori Ito became the first woman to land a triple Axel at the Olympics in 1988.
  • Sonja Henie won three consecutive Olympic gold medals in figure skating and helped make the sport globally popular.
  • The first Olympics where women competed in every sport was London 2012.
  • Today, women make up nearly half of all Olympic athletes.
  • Paralympic women now dominate some of the most competitive events in adaptive sport.

The Olympics as a Reflection of Cultural Change

When I take a close look at the dynamics of the Olympics, I see more than sport. They quietly reflect on how our world is changing. Going from just 22 women in 1900 to nearly half of all athletes in 2026 shows how much has shifted. And it makes you wonder: what’s next? Even greater equality? New disciplines we can’t yet imagine? Maybe one day we’ll see superintelligent systems competing alongside humans, pushing us to rethink what performance, endurance, and excellence even mean. Now, when I watch the Games, I don’t just feel nostalgic. I simply notice how normal it feels to see women winning, leading, and standing confidently at the center of it all.