Athletes

Gender representation

At the first modern Olympics in 1896, 241 athletes competed from 14 countries. At Paris 2024, this number is an estimated 10,500 from 206 nations. 

These Olympics will be the first Games to achieve full gender parity, with the same number of male and female athletes competing – 5,250 men and 5,250 women.

When did women first compete
at the Olympics?

Women were first allowed to compete at the Olympics in 1900, despite De Coubertin being “strongly against” their participation, believing it to be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and improper”.

Until his death in 1937, he believed the Games were “the solemn and periodic exaltation of male sport – with the applause of women as a reward”.

Switzerland’s Helene de Pourtales was the first of 22 women to compete in 1900, and she became the first female Olympic champion when she won sailing gold in that same Games.

It was not until 1996 that the promotion of women became a mission of the IOC, while the 2012 Olympics in London was the first Games where all participating nations sent female athletes.

Key women in Olympic
history timeline

Can transgender athletes
compete in the Olympics?

Since 2004, the IOC has allowed transgender athletes to compete in the Olympics, though it is understood it was not until the Tokyo Games in 2021 that a transgender athlete took part. 

There, Canadian non-binary football player Quinn became the first openly transgender athlete to win a medal as Canada won women’s football gold.

At the same Games, Alana Smith, a non-binary skateboarder, represented the United States, while transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand competed in the women’s weightlifting.

The IOC’s framework on transgender athletes – released in November 2021 – states that there should be no assumption that a transgender athlete automatically has an unfair advantage in female sporting events, and places responsibility on individual federations to determine eligibility criteria in their sport.

The world governing bodies of some of the key Olympic sports, including athletics, aquatics and cycling, have banned transgender women competing in the female category at international events. Other sports, including tennis and triathlon, require testosterone levels to be suppressed below a certain limit, while others assess on a case-by-case basis.

The IOC’s framework also applies to athletes with differences of sex development (DSD).

Great summer Olympians

Michael Phelps (United States)
Swimming (2000-2012)

With 28 Olympic medals, 23 of which are gold, Michael Phelps is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time. At Beijing 2008, he won eight gold medals, breaking the previous record of seven first-place finishes at a single Games held by fellow American swimmer Mark Spitz.

Jesse Owens (United States)
Athletics (1936)

While Jesse Owens’ medal tally is lower than others on this list, the American arguably had the greatest impact. Despite being encouraged not to, Owens travelled to Berlin to the Games which Adolf Hitler saw as an ideal showcase for Nazi propaganda and a symbol of Aryan racial supremacy. As Hitler watched from the stands, he won 100m gold before becoming the first American track and field star to win four golds at a single Games.

Larisa Latynina (Soviet Union)
Gymnastics (1956-1964)

Until Phelps surpassed her tally at London 2012, Larisa Latynina held the record for most Olympic medals for 48 years. To this date, she holds the record for the most Olympic medals by a gymnast, and is the only woman to have won nine gold medals.

Nadia Comaneci (Romania)
Gymnastics (1976-1980)

At the age of 14, Nadia Comaneci became the first gymnast to score a perfect score of 10.0 at the Montreal Olympics – a score thought so unlikely the scoreboard had not been programmed to display it. During that Games, she went on to earn a further six 10s as she won three golds at her debut Games. Four years later, not yet out of her teens, she defended her balance beam title – the only gymnast to ever do so – and won floor gold.

Usain Bolt (Jamaica)
Athletics (2004-2016)

Usain Bolt is immortalised in Olympic history as the only athlete to have won both the 100m, the Olympics’ blue riband event, and the 200m three times at consecutive Games. Seen as the saviour of athletics during a time of doping scandals, the charismatic Bolt is the world record holder in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay – often after a lunch of chicken nuggets.

Carl Lewis (United States)
Athletics (1984-1996)

Before Bolt there was Carl Lewis, who stole the show at his debut Olympics by winning gold in the 100m, 200m, long jump and 4x100m relay. He defended his 100m title in 1988 and went on to win long jump gold on three further occasions.

Florence Griffith Joyner (United States)
Athletics (1984-1988)

Florence Griffith Joyner – or ‘Flo Jo’ as she became widely known – won triple gold at the Seoul Olympics. Known for her bold fashion choices and nail designs, her 100m (10.49 secs) and 200m (21.34 secs) world records still stand to this day. But her career was tarnished by unsubstantiated allegations that she took banned substances. She died in 1998, aged 38, when she suffocated during a seizure in her sleep.

Closing ceremony

All good things must come to an end, and the Olympics always finishes with huge celebrations.

Olympic protocol states the closing ceremony must take place on the final day of the Games, at the Olympic Stadium.

There are 12 protocol elements that must be included, such as the parade of athletes, the playing of the Greek national anthem, the lowering of the Olympic flag and flag handover to the next host nation, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.

The Paris 2024 closing ceremony will take place on 11 August at the Stade de France, bringing an end to 17 days of sporting festivities.

Los Angeles will host the next Olympics in 2028.

Over to you, LA.