Followers of equestrian see nothing unusual in men and women competing against each other through the disciplines . . . but others who are not so familiar with it may look twice.

Back in ancient times, the Olympic Games was the domain of men only. That changed with the modern Olympics but there weren’t huge numbers taking part. Women participated for the first time at the 1900 Paris Olympics thanks to the inclusion of women’s events in lawn tennis and golf. Of the 997 athletes at the Games, 22 women competed in five sports – tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrian and golf.

Women’s athletics and gymnastics débuted at the 1928 Olympics and gradually more and more were added.

Brit tennis player Charlotte Cooper is credited as the first woman to win an Olympic event, and by London in 2012 there were no sports that did not include events for women. Interestingly though it was only in 1996 at the Summer Olympics that 26 countries did not send any female athletes.

The 2012 London Olympics had 30 fewer gold medals available for female competitors.

At six competitions, equestrian has the most sports that see men and women go individually head to head against each other while sailing, badminton and tennis each have a competition apiece that involves mixed teams.

New Zealand is a leader in equality – earlier this month the New Zealand Olympic Committee made history as the first National Olympic Committee to be named world winner at the 2015 IOC Women in Sport Awards, being recognised for its long-standing efforts promoting women in sport.

The board has strong female representation as does the senior management and Olympic teams.

A press release celebrating the win said the NZOC has long been at the forefront of championing change to ensure that women have a prominent role in sport, on and off the field of play. Particular attention has been paid to increasing the number of women representing New Zealand at the Olympic Games and in decision-making and leadership positions, not only within the NOC, but also in other sports organisations in the country.

NZOC Secretary General Kereyn Smith was in Lausanne, Switzerland, to receive the trophy, saying she was delighted to come from a nation where sport is playing a role in creating gender balance.

Did you know . . .

The early Olympic Games were celebrated as a religious festival from 776 BC until 393 AD, when they were banned for being a pagan festival – the Olympics celebrated the Greek god Zeus. In 1894 French educator Baron Pierre de Coubertin proposed a revival of the ancient tradition and the modern-day Olympic Summer Games were born.

Source: ESNZ