Since it’s January 20th, an historic day being covered worldwide I had a mad rush of inspiration to write about female athletes who broke down barriers, and I start with Alice Coachman who was the first African-American woman to win an Olympic medal when she won gold at the 1948 Olympics in high jump, setting a new record on the process. Hard for many of the younger generation to imagine, but at that time she would have only have been denied access to world class training facilities, and upon her return the media didn’t cover her win.
Neroli Fairhall, a paraplegic, became the first wheelchair bound athlete to compete in the Olympics when she represented New Zealand in archery in the 1984 Olympics.
Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to compete in the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956.
Figure skater Debi Thomas won the World Championships in 1986 and a bronze medal at the 1988 Winter Games becoming the first black athlete from any nation to achieve these accomplishments.
Natalie du Toit of South Africa became the first amputee swimmer to compete in the Olympics in 2008.
Often overshadowed by Cathy Freeman’s 2000 gold medal win, Nova Peris was the first Aboriginal Australian to win a gold Olympic medal in 1996.
Marla Runyan became the first legally blind athlete to compete in the Olympics in 2000, where she represented the USA in the 1,500-meter.
Pasqualena Mitchell was the first, and only, wheeelchair bound female bodybuilder to be awarded IFBB pro status.
That’s just a start of many female athletes who have been the first, and in many cases done it againest the odds. Please feel free to make a comment about anyone I have missed, and I will add them in!