But before we conclude this tribute to women at the opening ceremony, let’s take a look at a few figures :
According to Ouest France, of the 10 athletes who have made their mark on the 2024 Olympics and sport in general
through their performances, there are 2 French…
« Léon Marchand, 4 individual gold medals and a team bronze… He has gone down in the history of the French nation and world sport»
« On Saturday 3 August, Teddy Riner became the first French athlete in history to win six gold medals at the Summer Games, won between London 2012 and Paris 2024 ».
Also according to Ouest France, 2 of the 10 athletes were women...
« Katie Ledecky was just 15 when she won her first 800m at the London Games, beating the favourites. That was how the world discovered this prodigious swimmer,
who has since given no chance to her rivals.»
«Simone Biles, the
queen of gymnastics… She will remain one of the outstanding figures of this Olympiad. The 27-year-old American was the sensation of Paris, winning her
seventh Olympic title and taking home eleven Olympic medals. »
Yet a woman should be known and recognised by all sportswomen, because she is the one who fought for women to be able to take part in the Olympic Games.. At the opening of the 2024 Olympics, she was one of the 10 statues, and we couldn’t conclude this tribute to women without mentioning her: Alice Milliat, a French swimmer, hockey player and rower.
« Alice Milliat was the driving force behind the first women’s Olympic Games, at a time when women’s sporting events were deemed ‘uninteresting, unattractive and incorrect’ by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). »
Wikipédia
However, there is still some way to go before women in sport are reduced to cliches...
«For a long time, women were kept out of the Games, but once they were allowed to compete, they were bombarded with sexist stereotypes. ‘Their emotions and feelings have been used against them, to show that they are incapable of keeping their nerve»
Madame le Figaro
The women finalists in Koh Lanta proved to everyone that they were capable of keeping their nerve and winning(see article)
Thank you to everyone and especially to Alice Milliat for her fight, and if you want to find out more about the other statues, click on this link. In a first article, « Touspourchacune » mentioned «Alice Guy» in a second, «Paulette Nardal». And this last article ends with an extract from the poem dedicated to Amel, the last 4 lines can be dedicated to all those who have thrilled us for these Olympics. See you soon at the Paralympics, for more emotions…
