Game Changers for
Women in Sports
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Barrier Breakers
Olympics
1900
Women compete in the Olympics — in golf, tennis, croquet and sailing — for the first time.
Swimming
1915
Women’s swimming is recognized by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) as a sport.
Track
1922
AAU adds track and field events for women. Four years later, six teams compete in organization’s inaugural women’s basketball tournament.
Gymnastics
1928
Women make their debuts in gymnastics and track and field at the Summer Games in Amsterdam.
Baseball
1943
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is founded by Philip K. Wrigley.
College
1972
Title IX a law preventing sex discrimination in education programs or activities (i.e., sports) that receive federal funding, is enacted.
olympics
1976
Women compete in crew and basketball for the first time in the Summer Olympics.
College
1982
The NCAA sanctions its first national championship tournaments for women in several sports, including basketball, gymnastics, soccer, swimming and tennis.
Soccer
1991
Mia Hamm plays in the first Women’s World Cup tournament, helping the U.S. win the championship.
Basketball
1996
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is founded.
Olympics
1996
Softball and women’s soccer debut at the Summer Games in Atlanta.
Olympics
1998
The U.S. wins gold in Nagano in women’s ice hockey as it and women’s curling debut as Olympic medal sports.
Tennis
2007
Wimbledon announces that women will receive the same prize money as men.
Olympics
2012
For the first time in Olympic history, the U.S. sends more women than men to participate in the Summer Games in London.
Hockey
2017
The women’s national hockey team says it will boycott world championships unless U.S.A. Hockey increases their wages. Two weeks later, they reach a deal with the sport’s governing body.
trailblazers
Swimming
1926
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel, completing the feat nearly two hours faster than the men’s best time.
Tennis
1956
Althea Gibson becomes the first African American to win a Grand Slam event title with a victory in the French Championships (known now as the French Open).
Track
1960
Wilma Rudolph wins three Olympic gold medals (in the 100- and 200-meter events and the 4 x 100-meter relay) at the 1960 Summer Games, becoming the first American woman to win three golds at one Olympics.
Track
1967
Kathrine Switzer becomes the first woman to officially run in the all-male Boston Marathon. She uses an initial to register and finishes — despite an official who tries to rip off her bib number.
Tennis
1973
Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in tennis’ “Battle of the Sexes” before 90-million TV viewers.
Hiking
1975
Japan’s Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to summit Mt. Everest.
Racing
1976
Shirley Muldowney becomes the first woman to win a National Hot Rod Association Top Fuel event. In 1980, she becomes the first driver to win two NHRA points titles.
Racing
1977
Race-car driver Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 as well as the Daytona 500.
Golf
1978
Nancy Lopez is the only female golfer to win rookie of the year, player of the year and the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average in the same season.
Olympics
1984
Joan Benoit, at the Los Angeles Summer Games, wins the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon.
Baseball
1984
Victoria Roche becomes the first girl to play in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Horse Racing
1993
Jockey Julie Krone becomes the first woman to win a Triple Crown horse race — the Belmont Stakes.
Basketball
1997
The NBA hires two female referees, Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer, the first to work regular-season games in a major men’s pro sports league.
Soccer
1999
The U.S. national soccer team wins the Women’s World Cup on a penalty kick by Brandi Chastain followed by an epic celebration.
Golf
2002
Michelle Wie, 12, becomes the youngest golfer ever to qualify for an LPGA tournament.
MMA
2012
Ronda Rousey is first female fighter to be signed by the UFC; the bantamweight champion sets a record for winning the most UFC title defenses — six — before losing in 2015.
Olympics
2012
Gabby Douglas becomes the first African American to win Olympic gold in the women’s all-around gymnastics finals.
Basketball
2014
Becky Hammon becomes the first woman to serve as a full-time assistant coach in the NBA, working for the San Antonio Spurs.
Football
2015
Sarah Thomas becomes the first full-time female official in NFL history.
Olympics
2016
Ibtihaj Muhammad becomes the first U.S. Olympic athlete to compete in a hijab. She wins a bronze medal in the team saber event.
Skating
2019
Alysa Liu, 13, becomes the youngest U.S. figure skating champion, stealing the show with two triple axels. In January of this year, she successfully defends her national championship title, again landing two triple Axels. She also landed the first quadruple jump by a woman in U.S. nationals history.
Football
2020
Katie Sowers, the offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, will be the first female coach — and first openly gay coach — to participate in the Super Bowl.
Record Holders
Track
1932
American Babe Didrikson Zaharias wins two gold medals and one silver in track and field events at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She later wins 41 events in a golf career that lasts until 1955.
Basketball
1974
Pat Summitt becomes coach of the University of Tennessee’s Lady Vols basketball team and collects 1,098 wins — a women’s college basketball record — before retiring in 2012.
Olympics
1976
Nadia Comaneci, a 14-year-old Romanian, becomes the first gymnast to receive a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastics event. She went on to earn seven perfect scores at the Montreal Games.
Olympics
1988
Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins gold medals in the heptathlon and the long jump at the Summer Games in Seoul (she’d won a silver medal in the heptathlon in 1984).
Skating
2001
Michelle Kwan, 20, the three-time world champion, wins her fourth straight U.S. figure skating championship and fifth overall.
Golf
2001
Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam, 30, makes women’s golf history by shooting a 59 during an LPGA event. She wins eight times that season on the LPGA tour.
Tennis
2003
Tennis’ Serena Williams wins four straight Grand Slam event finals — the French Open, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open — defeating her sister, Venus, in the finals of all four.
Skiing
2008
Lindsey Vonn sets a U.S. record winning 10 World Cup downhill ski races. She wins the overall World Cup title that year — and the following two years.
Olympics
2012
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings win their third Olympic gold medal in the last game of their 11-year team career.
Olympics
2012
Serena Williams wins gold at the Summer Games in London in singles, and she and her sister team up for the gold in doubles.
Olympics
2012
Katie Ledecky wins her first Olympic gold medal—in the 800-meter freestyle.
Olympics
2016
Katie Ledecky wins four gold and one silver medal in the Summer Games in Rio. She’s won a total of 34 medals (28 golds) in major competitions worldwide.
Skiing
2019
Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. becomes the first skier to claim 17 World Cup wins in a single season.
Gymnastics
2019
Simone Biles, the AP female athlete of the year, becomes the most decorated American gymnast with a combined 30 Olympic and world championships.
