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Every four years, I find myself putting a dent in my sofa, eyes glued to my television, as I suddenly, inexplicably, become a sports girl. I don't love watching sports — that is, until the Olympics roll around. Seeing competitors compete in front of the entire world after tirelessly training for four years is uniquely emotional and undeniably gripping. It's rarely the actual sport that enthrals me — it is the moment after. The moment after the race, the routine, the jump or the dive when the competitor realises that they've overcome every adversity — that they've done it.
The 2024 Paris Olympics have already been filled with a number of particularly inspiring moments, particularly for the female competitors. After all, this year's games is being hailed as the first “gender-equal” Olympics, welcoming an equal 50:50 ratio of male and female competitors. There are still a number of sports in which gender parity hasn't been achieved, with 28 out of 32 sports being fully gender equal.
I’m impressed and a little scared.
With more women competing than ever before, there's never been a better time to celebrate female empowerment in sports. Let's take a look at how female Olympians are delivering this message of empowerment in Paris this year.
Simone Biles' triumphant comeback
Simone Biles' spectacular return to form this year has been one of the main talking points of the games. After shooting to fame with her glorious medal sweep at Rio (she took home four gold medals!), Biles had a disappointing games in 2021 at Tokyo. After getting the “twisties,” a mental block that sometimes affects gymnasts, Biles was forced to withdraw from the competition.
Since then, Biles has fought her way back to form, dealing with her mental health setbacks as detailed in her Netflix documentary Simone Biles Rising. Seeing Biles compete once again was nothing short of breathtaking — and watching her take Team USA to gold in Team Competition was one of the most empowering moments from the Paris Olympics so far.
Going for gold with hair, nails, wax and lashes.
Nada Hafez competes while 7 months pregnant
Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez competed in her third Olympics this year. Although she beat USA’s Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the first round of the individual sabre competition, she was then beaten by the Republic of Korea's Jeon Hayoung in the second round.
Hafez later revealed on Instagram that she was actually secretly seven months pregnant during the competition.
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“What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, & my yet-to-come to our world, little baby!” she wrote on Instagram.
“My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional. The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it. I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16!”
She may not have won a place on the podium, but what a champion!
The English hockey team compete in shorts and skorts
Yes, it's 2024, but in many sports, women are still made to wear clothes that emphasise their sexuality and, sometimes, actually hinder them mentally as they do their sport.
At last year's Euros, England's female hockey team were sartorial trailblazers, becoming the first ever team to compete in a combination of skorts and shorts — traditionally, women wore only skorts.
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The team continued their campaign at the Olympics this year.
“Being able to wear shorts as a choice makes me feel comfortable and my team-mates who wear shorts feel comfortable,” said team member Tess Howard to the Independent. “But it’s a much bigger narrative about women having the right to choose what they wear. For me, that gives me even more energy on the pitch.
She went on, “I think it’s really important to recognise what we’re doing is a first in any team sport and that people should look to our team as a model of what it can be. It’s not that hard to have choice and inclusion if you choose to do it.”
Clarisse Agbégnénou lifting her daughter up as she accepted her Bronze medal
Olympian mothers never fail to awe and inspire me. This year, French judoka Clarisse Agbégnénou brought her five-month-old daughter to the games with her.
She hoped to be able to live with her daughter in the Olympic village in order to keep breastfeeding.
“My daughter gives me extra strength. My daily routine is like that and I haven’t yet tried spending a night away from her so I’m not going to change my way of doing things for the Olympics when I need her most,” she said at the time.
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Her request was denied, but nevertheless, Agbégnénou kept her daughter involved in her campaign. In fact, when she secured the Bronze medal in her category, she lifted her daughter up as the crowd cheered.
Lola Anderson pays tribute to her father as she and her team snatch gold
The women's quadruple sculls rowing race was utterly jaw-dropping. After holding a steady second position throughout the race, Team GB managed to dash forwards in the final metres to snatch the gold from the Netherlands, who were just 0.15 seconds behind them.
As if this thrilling win wasn't already one of the most empowering moments of the Olympics, the story behind it was even more inspiring.
Rower Lola Anderson later revealed that she was rowing in honour of her late father, Don, who was also a rower. During the 2012 Olympics, Anderson had written herself a note — a pledge that she would one day win gold at the Olympics. However, doubting herself, she threw it away.
The Olympic canoeist bravely shares her experiences with depression and self harm.
“I threw that away because I didn’t believe,” Anderson said. However, her father had saved the piece of paper and, years later, given it back to Anderson.
“I was 14 at the time so why would I believe? Young girls struggle a bit to see themselves as strong, athletic individuals but that’s changing now," explained Anderson. “My dad saw it before I did. My potential would not have been unlocked without the girls I crossed the line with. He would be very proud today.”
She went on, “It’s a piece of paper but it’s the most valuable thing I have, maybe jointly with this medal now. It’s safe in a tin with all my dad’s old medals in my bedroom.”
This is one of those empowering moments from the Paris Olympics that we'll probably never forget.
