London 2012 blog

Today is International Women’s Day - an excellent opportunity to celebrate the achievement of two of Britain’s female sporting stars who have recently been in the spotlight.

Last week our most successful ever Paralympian, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson announced her retirement from competition after 18 years at the highest level of her field. A true legend.

Then at the weekend we saw rising star Nicola Sanders win gold with a blistering 400m at the European Indoor Championships – long may her winning form continue.

Involvement in sport has long seen to have a positive impact on the lives of women, creating self-confidence, drive and focus.

Although the first Modern Olympic Games, back in 1896, was for men only, the IOC soon realised the importance of women’s involvement. This really took off in the 1970s, when the link between a woman’s well-being and activity was really made, and more and more sports were opened to women.

In 1991 a policy was introduced so that any new Olympic sports had to be open to both men and women. So the Games have come a long way since 1896.

In fact, they’ve come a long way since 1964…in Athens 40.7% of competitors were female – the highest percentage ever; compare that to 1964, when just 13.3% were female.

Involving women is something we’re committed to at London 2012 – both in terms of athletes and broader participation, within London 2012 organisation and for volunteers.

We know the positive impact being involved in this kind of project can have and we want to make sure women are well represented across the board.

The IOC is marking today with awards for excellence for women in the sporting world from across the world. They also have some fascinating information about women and the Games on this on their site. Highly recommended reading!