As the 2026 Winter Olympics came to a close on Sunday, Team USA ran away with some historic wins in ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, and bobsled. Team USA came in second place with a total of 33 medals, and set a new national record of 12 gold medals, two more than the previous record set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter games. Most notably the women came away with more medals than the men, a trend that we have to talk about.
the beginnings
Women first competed in the 1900 Olympic games held in Paris just four years after the inaugural games. Of the 997 athletes, 22 women competed in just five sports including tennis, golf, sailing, croquet, and equestrianism. HĂ©lène de Pourtalès of Switzerland was the first woman to compete and to win a gold medal in the Olympics. Pourtalès was a member of the 1 to 2 ton sailing team that received gold. Margaret Abbott was the champion of the golf women’s division and became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics.
When the Olympics were split into the winter and summer games in 1924, women were only allowed to compete in figure skating in the winter. This did not change until 1936 winter games, when women competed in alpine skiing for the first time. The 1936 summer games introduced gymnastics into the women’s program.
Gender equality
In 1991, the International Olympic Committee mandated that any new sport seeking Olympic recognition must include female competitors; however, any existing programs could continue to exclude female athletes. From this decision until 2012, the Olympics continued to make great strides toward gender inclusivity, continuing to add and include female athletes in more sports.
In the 2012 London Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee dropped baseball from the program, meaning that there were female athletes competing in every sport for the first time in history. Team USA had more female than male athletes in 2012 for the first time in history. The 2012 London Games was nicknamed “The Women’s Games” due to the advancement in female athlete’s participation.
USA Women’s dominance
Team USA women have earned more medals than the men in the 2018, 2022, and now 2026 winter games. This year, 8 of the 12 gold medals came from the women. Some of the most notable being two gold medals in alpine skiing, one individual and one mixed team in figure skating, and one in ice hockey. 17 of the 33 medals total were earned by the women, making this historic winter Olympics even more impactful for Team USA.
Team USA women have earned more medals than their male counter parts in the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 summer games. In 2024, Team USA placed first with 40 gold medals, 44 silver medals, and 42 bronze medals, for a grand total of 126 medals. Of the 126 total medals, the Team USA women earned 67 of them, with 26 of them being gold. If the Team USA women were to compete as their own country in these games, they would have placed third overall, with six more gold medals than Great Britain.
The dominance by Team USA women is not something to skim over. Collegiate women’s athletic programs are being cut all over the country from Division I to JUCO. These are the same programs that build and expand on these young women’s athletic abilities. Without these programs, many of these olympians would not become the athletes they are today. It is time to support women in sports, because when it matters, they show up.