Participation of women in the Olympics
Athlete Nation Sport Year of competition
Estella Agsteribbe Netherlands Gymnastics 1928
Dorothea Köring Germany Tennis 1912
Helena Nordheim Netherlands Gymnastics 1928
Anna Dresden-Polak Netherlands Gymnastics 1928
Jud Simons Netherlands Gymnastics 1928
Hildegarde Švarce Latvia Figure Skating 1936
History of women at the Olympics -- 1940–1944
The 1940 Winter Olympics due to be held in Sapporo , 1940 Summer Olympics due to be held in Tokyo , 1944 Winter Olympics due to be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the 1944 Summer Olympics due to be held in London were all cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II . Six female Olympic athletes died due to World War II : [ 22 ]
The rate of participation of women in the Olympics has been increasing since their first participation in 1900. Some sports are uniquely for women, others are contested by both sexes, while some older sports remain for men only. Studies of media coverage of the Olympics consistently show differences in the ways in which women and men are described and the ways in which their performances are discussed. The representation of women on the International Olympic Committee has run well behind the rate of female participation, and it continues to miss its target of a 20% minimum presence of women on their committee.