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First Woman Speed Skater
In winter of 1936, Kit Klein became the first woman to become a World Champion in Speedskating. In order to qualify for the championship, a skaer must have won three out of four contested distances- 500, 1500, 3000, and 5000. Klein won the 500, 3000, and 5000 distance races against her men and women competitiors to edge out the competition. -
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All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League
A League of Their Own
Women were not allowed to play professionally with men in any sport, especially in baseball. Because of this, Phillip Wrigley and his team from Chicago came up with the Girls' Professional Baseball League. In its hayday, it had around 1 million fans, both men and women. The girls looked impressed everyone with their skills--they were games filled with stealing bases, home runs, and curve ball pitches. -
Woman Mountaineer
After marrying her husband, who was an avid mountaineer, Barbara Washburn became the first woman to clime Mt. McKinley. Mt. McKinley, which stands at 20,320 feet above sea level, is one of the tallest in the world. Washburn's feat proved women can do the impossible--conquering a mountain. -
Gold Medal Mother
USSR's Larissa Latynin wins three golds, two silvers, and a bronze medal for gymnastics during the 1960 Summer Olympics. Not only did she medal in every category she competed in, but she did so while being three months pregnant. She showed the world that you can compete in extremely pressure situations and still be a mother at the same time. -
K. V. Switzer's Run from the Officials
Kathrine Switzer, or K.V. Switzer, was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry. She registered with gender neutral K.V. Switzer. Four miles into the race, the marathon officials saw her numbers and attempted to remove her from the race. Instead of leaving the race, Switzer and her party got into an altercation with the official, sprinting off as fast as they could to finish the marathon and create history. Though her time wasn't posted, she finished around 4:20:00. -
Title XI of the Education Amendments Act of 1972
What does Title IX mean to you? In 1972, President Nixon passed Title IX of the Education Amendments Act, which aimed to end discrimination in schools based on gender. This allowed girls to get equal education as boys, and most importantly, be allowed to participate in sports. In 1972, 1 out of 27 girls were members of a sports team. Currently, 1 out of 3 girls participate in sports. -
Battle of the Sexes
In a match of Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs, King, a woman, beat one of the then winningest men tennis players, Riggs. The match was a turning point for women, inspired a women's professional tennis tour, and showed the world that women could also compete in high pressure and highly competitive sports and activities. -
The Dunk Heard Around the World
Georgeann Wells, a 6'7" center on West Virginia's NCAA Women's Basketball team, was the first woman ever to dunk a basketball in a game. In history, only about 8 women have ever dunked a basketball during a game (3 professionally, 5 collegiately). Lisa Leslie was the first woman to dunk during a WNBA game, on July 12 2002, almost 20 years after Wells. -
The Girl Amongst the Boys
During the 1997 season of baseball, Ila Borders became the first female pitcher in an integrated men's professional baseball league, the Norther League. Despite her shaky beginning, she pitched well enough to become the first woman pitcher to start in 1998. Her talent and skill are an open for girls to begin playing professionally with the boys-she proved that girls can handle it. -
Women CAN drive!
At 26 years old, Danica Patrick is the first woman to ever win an IndyCar race in history. After three yeras of racing in IndyCar events, Patrick was able to beat her male competitors for the title. In her first Indy 500 race, in 2005, Patrick led the race for 19 laps, marking the first time a woman ever led a lap in the races. Since then, she has won Rookie of the Year honors and has steadily improved her rank. -
Back to Back Gold Medals
Pro-beach volleyball players Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh were the first females to win back-to-back gold medals in the 2008 Olympic Games. They were the first team to win two gold medals in beach volleyball, and also hold the title of the "greatest beach volleyball team of all time," beating legends who have been playing for much longer than them. The May-Treanor and Walsh team are also the winningest team in beach volleyball and hold the longest winning streak, at 109 victories.
