As most of the world knows, the Rio Olympics were a pretty big deal in many ways. The 2016 Rio Olympics hosted more female Olympic athletes than ever before. Team USA had thirty more women athletes than men, 294 versus 264, according to Team USA’s website. Women made up approximately 45% of all Olympic athletes at the Rio games. Women were first allowed to compete in the Olympics starting in the 1900 games, when only 22 women worldwide competed in two different events, tennis and golf. Over the past 116 years, the number of women athletes has significantly increased.
After taking a Gender and Women’s study class and moving out of the small town I grew up in, my perspective on gender equality has widened. I was beyond impressed with the stories and accomplishments of the women in Rio this summer. World records were destroyed and medals were won. Let’s all take a moment to applaud and relive some of the amazing women that competed in Rio this summer.
- Gaurkia Singh
She’s a 13-year-old swimmer from Nepal and was the youngest athlete competing in Rio. She also was in Nepal when the earthquake struck the country.
- Michelle Carter
She won gold in shot put, throwing 20.63m, or for those who don’t use the metric system that’s almost 68 feet. Her biggest motivation: her dad, three-time Super Bowl champion with the San Francisco 49ers, and the silver medalist in shot put in the 1984 games. Cue “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.”
- Lilly King
At only 19 years old, she won two gold medals at the Olympics in 4×100 medley and the 100 meter breaststroke. Among these two accomplishments she may be best known for throwing shade at the Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, one of the few Russians allowed to compete in the Rio games despite being involved in a doping scandal.
- Simone Manuel
No, not the gymnast. Simone Manuel, often mistaken as Simone Biles, made history in Rio. She won two gold and two silver medals, in both individual and team events.In addition to medaling in four events, she was the first African American woman in history to win a gold medal in an individual swimming event, plus she broke an Olympic record in the process.It was also refreshing to see her humble tears during the medal ceremony and interviews unlike many over-confident athletes.
- Ellie Downie
At just 17 years old, Ellie Downie made headlines in Rio for artisitic gymnastics—just not for the reasons any gymnast would hope for. During the women’s qualifiers, Ellie performed her impressive floor routine. Unfortunately, after one of her tumbling passes, Ellie legs collapsed from under her causing her to land on her neck. You could feel the pain just watching it. But to the surprise of everyone watching, Ellie got up from the fall and continued her routine. She eventually walked off the mat due to pain, but we applauded her dedication. The determination in this girl was unreal. If risking a neck fracture and paralyzation wasn’t enough, after she walked off her floor routine she came back to run two vaults in attempt to qualify. If that’s not dedication, I’m not sure what is.
- Gwen Jorgensen
If you’ve not heard of her by now, do you even UW? Gwen Jorgensen is not only from Wisconsin, but walked this very campus for four years. Jorgensen competed in the women’s triathlon in Rio and won gold. The Olympic triathlon is composed of three continuous and sequential events; 1500m of swimming, 40 km of biking (24.9 miles), and 10 km of running (6.2 miles). If that doesn’t make you want to go to the gym, the very gym that Jorgensen worked out in, I’m not sure what would motivate you.
- Katie Ledecky
At only 19, Ledecky is a five time Olympic medalist, four of which are gold. She broke many Olympic and world records while in Rio, including the 800m freestyle in which she beat the silver medalist by over 11 seconds.She was one medal short of tying Michael Phelps for most medals won in a single Olympics.In other words, she’s kind of a big deal, and she has a bright future.
- Ibtihaj Muhammad
Although fencing isn’t the most popular sport for the US, Muhammad brought attention to it. Ibtihaj Muhammad was the first American athletes to compete in a hijab, raising awareness for the Muslim-American community that are often targets of hate and discrimination. Muhammad won a bronze medal in fencing and proved even further that the stereotypes of Muslims are extremely wrong.
- Kerri Walsh-Jennings and April Ross
Kerri Walsh-Jennings is well known to most of us.She made her Olympic debut in 2004, making Rio her fourth Olympics.She had never lost an Olympic match until the 2016 Olympics. April Ross made her Olympic debut in 2012.Ross stepped into the spotlight during the gold medal match in 2012 when she and her volleyball partner at the time faced Walsh-Jennings and Trainor for the gold. This match is how Walsh-Jennings and Ross became the next great American duo.Unfortunately, the two faced some very tough teams and were defeated on their road to gold while in Rio. They did walk away with the bronze, ending Walsh-Jennings’ undefeated Olympic record.
- Final Five
These young women are immensely talented and deserve so much praise. Each and every one of these women contributed to the greatest gymnastics team the US has ever seen. Four of the five are college aged, except 16-year-old Laurie Hernandez who is just starting her junior year of high school, made the team even more impressive. How such petite women can have so much power and strength, is beyond me. The entire country seemed to have adoration for these five. Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas came back for Olympics round 2 and were flawless. Aly won silver in both the women’s floor routine and in all around individual, in addition to the team gold. Laurie Hernandez won silver in women’s beam, Madison Kocian won silver in women’s uneven bar and Simone wiped the floor. Simone walked away with five medals, four gold and a bronze. She won bronze in women’s beam, while she won gold in team, individual all around, vault, and floor. Collectively this is one of the best gymnastics teams the USA has ever had, winning nine medals in Rio. Stay tuned for Hernandez’s Dancing with the Stars debut. * Secretly hoping they all come back for another Olympics. *
The Olympics had so many talented, wholesome athletes that the world loved watching. With the excitement that comes with the Olympics, it’s probably good that it only happens every four years.