For the first time in history, the U.S. Olympic Team will field more women than men in the Olympics.
That news comes at the U.S. Olympic family celebrated an important milestone in the country’s sporting history: The 40-year anniversary of Title IX, which has increased sport opportunities for millions of females across the United States, including some of the world’s most famous sport heroes.
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) CEO Scott Blackmun said: “As a sport organization, we are incredibly proud of the accomplishments of female athletes the world over and applaud the dedication of the forerunners of the women’s sports movement that made Title IX possible. In a large part, Title IX has given female athletes a platform to inspire us all, and we are proud that the United States has been and continues to be a leader and proponent for equality in sports.”
Anita DeFrantz, a USOC board member, two-time Olympic rower, International Olympic Committee (IOC) chairwoman of the Women and Sport Commission and president of the LA84 Foundation, said: “Title IX affirms that sports belong to all of us and are a part of our very nature as human beings. The legislation revolutionized women’s athletics and has had a profound and immeasurable effect on the sports landscape in the United States.”
DeFrantz added: “The U.S. Olympic Team headed to the 2012 London Olympics is expected to include more females than males for the first time ever, and we will watch women compete in every single Olympic sport for the first time. Seeing the impact of Title IX gives us all great reason to celebrate its 40th anniversary.”
Passed into law as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in education and has helped break down barriers in sports for girls and women.
The 40th anniversary of the momentous legislation appropriately falls on Olympic Day, which commemorates the birth of the modern Olympic Movement. This milestone is particularly relevant in 2012, as this summer’s London Olympic Games will be the first gender-equal Olympic Games in history with the addition of women’s boxing.
This article is reprinted from The Sport Intern, a sport blog published by Karl Heinz-Huba of Lorsch, Germany. The article is reprinted here with permission of Mr. Huba. He can be contacted by email at ISMG@aol.com.