Women Leading the Olympics
Chloe Kim on the podium after winning gold in the Women’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final
Olympic Recap
Even though the Olympics officially ended a few weeks ago, there is still plenty to discuss. The Beijing 2022 Winter Games were reportedly the most gender-balanced winter Olympics, with 45 percent of the athletes being women.
Changes by the Numbers
The number of women's events increased from 44 to 46 since PyeongChang in 2018
Four new mixed-gendered events were added, bringing the total to 12
53 percent of the events included female athletes
Entire gender balance was achieved for the first time in seven events
Women's hockey tournament expands to 10 teams (there are 14 for men's)
More Wins for Women
The competition schedule was adjusted to give female athletes maximum exposure through primetime slots. Two women's events were moved to the last Saturday of the games: women's biathlon 12.5k mass start and two-women bobsleigh. By adding these two competitions, the Olympics featured nine hours of women's sports instead of five hours on the same day in the 2018 games.
Additionally, three National Olympic Committees (NOCs) added a female athlete to their roster for the first time: Ecuador, Kosovo, and Malaysia. All three of the athletes were selected as their team's flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony.
Team USA
When it comes to the United States specifically, women earned more medals in women's events than any other country. Though the Dutch women had the most gold medals with six, the American women claimed 13 total. The American women also beat their male counterparts by playing a role in 17 medals, with 13 in women's only events and four in mixed-gender competitions. Eight of the 25 medals earned by Team USA were won in men's events. This is the "second straight time women won a majority of US medals" (NBC Sports). The US and Canada also broke the record of most women competing from one nation, with 105 participating in Beijing. For Team USA, this number has grown every Winter Games since 1984.
Looking Ahead
There is still work to be done. Even though significant progress has been made in recent years, the total number of women's events (46) is still less than men's (51). Additionally, Nordic Combined, an event that has been contested repeatedly, is the only event not open to women. Additionally, even when there are an equal number of events in specific sports, distances remain unequal. Men’s cross-country skiing, biathlon, short track, and speed skating are all longer than the same events on the women's side. For example, the women's cross-country skiing race is 30 kilometers compared to the men's 50km. There is also a significant disparity between the number of men's and women's officials, coaches, and executives. This is an issue the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hopes to remedy in future games.
The competition is not over yet, though. Women still have a chance to earn medals as the Paralympic Games begin Friday, March 4th. Here are some women to watch in the next week as events start again:
Oksana Masters, Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon (USA)
Kendall Gretsch, Cross-Country Skiing and Biathlon (USA)
Lisa Bunschoten, Snowboarding (Netherlands)
Laurie Stephens, Alpine Skiing (USA)
Lena Schroeder, Sled Hockey (Norway)
Sources: International Olympic Committee, NBC Sports, NPR