Women’s History Guide
Since the beginning of the Olympic and Paralympic movements, women have played a significant role, pushing the envelope of competitive excellence and equality on and off the field. Explore them on your journey through the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. Dive deeper into the women of Team USA on the USOPM Digital Museum.
U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame: Helene Madison
“Queen” Helene Madison was one of the most successful Olympians at Los Angeles 1932. She won three gold medals in the 100m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle relay, and the 400m freestyle, setting two world records and one Olympic record in the process. In 1992, she became the first woman inducted as a legend into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame.
International Olympic Committee
Bill Baum
Introduction to the Games: Betty Robinson
Betty Robinson made history, winning the first women’s Olympic track and field race – the 100m at the Amsterdam 1928 Amsterdam. After nearly dying in a 1931 plane crash, she returned to the Games in 1936 as part of the gold-medal winning 4x100m relay in Berlin.
International Olympic Committee
Bill Baum
Introduction to the Games: Cindy Castellano
Cindy Castellano was Team USA’s first female Paralympic Winter Games champion after taking home the gold in alpine skiing at Geilo 1980. In a heartfelt, handwritten poem, she thanks and inspires future generations of athletes.
Cindy Castellano
Bill Baum
Athlete Training: Mirai Nagasu
Mirai Nagasu made her Olympic debut at Vancouver 2010. After missing the 2014 team, she returned in 2018 and made history as the first American woman to land a triple axel at the Olympic Games.
International Olympic Committee
Bill Baum
Athlete Training: Carmelita Jeter
A three-time Olympic medalist, Carmelita Jeter is the fastest woman alive and the second-fastest woman in history. She took home gold, silver, and bronze at London 2012 and currently holds three of the 10 fastest women’s 100m times ever.
Race against Camelita in our track interactive!
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Athlete Training: Pat Summitt
Pat Summitt, one of the greatest basketball coaches in history, both competed and coached at the Olympic level. She won silver at Montreal 1976 as a player and then returned to coach the U.S. to gold at Los Angeles 1984.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
The Lab:
Rebecca Lobo Rebecca Lobo led the University of Connecticut basketball team to a 35-0 national championship season, earning her a plethora of awards and eventually a place on the U.S. Olympic team where she helped Team USA win gold at Atlanta 1996. Guests can hear her voice in The Lab, as she provided voiceover for each of the interactive stations.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
The Lab:
Amanda McGrory Amanda McGrory is a seven-time Paralympic medal winner in track and field. Holding a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in Library and Information Science, she is training for the Tokyo Games while working as the director of archives at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
Joe Kusumoto
Bill Baum
The Lab: Joan Benoit
Despite having knee surgery just 17 days before the U.S. Olympic trials, Joan Benoit pushed through and qualified for Los Angeles 1984, where she went on to win the first-ever Olympic women’s marathon.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Parade of Nations: Jan York-Romary
Fencer Janice York-Romary was the first woman to appear at six Olympic Games with a career spanning across two decades. At Mexico City 1968, she also became Team USA’s first female flag bearer.
International Olympic Committee
Bill Baum
Parade of Nations: Candace Cable
Candace Cable is a nine-time Paralympian and 12-time Paralympic medalist across three sports: alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, and track and field. She became the first U.S. woman to medal at the Summer and Winter Games.
Candace Cable
Nic Lehoux
Summer Games: Trischa Zorn
Swimmer Trischa Zorn competed at seven Paralympic Games, from 1980 until 2004. With 55 medals, including 41 golds, she is the most decorated athlete in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Crawford Family U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Archives
Nic Lehoux
Summer Games: Kim Rhode
Kim Rhode is the most successful female Olympic shooter in history. She is the only woman to have won two Olympic gold medals in the double trap, and she remains the only Olympic shooter to have won three gold medals.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Summer Games: Micki King
Diver Micki King was in first place at Mexico City 1968 when she hit the diving board and broke her arm on the ninth of 10 dives. She still completed her final dive but finished in fourth. She returned at Munich 1972 and won gold.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Winter Games: Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic champion figure skater. Her near flawless performance at Albertville 1992 earned Team USA’s first ladies’ singles figure skating gold in 16 years. Her victory also made her the first Asian-American woman to win Olympic winter gold.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Winter Games: Tenley Albright
Despite contracting polio as a child, figure skater Tenley Albright overcame adversity, going on to win the ladies’ singles silver medal at Oslo in 1952 and becoming Team USA’s first ladies’ singles Olympic champion at Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956. She later became the vice president of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
International Olympic Committee
Bill Baum
The World Watches: Kikkan Randall
A five-time Olympian, Kikkan Randall teamed with Jessie Diggins to win the gold medal in the women’s cross-country team sprint at PyeongChang 2018, the first gold medal in the sport for Team USA. She currently holds the highest finish by an individual American woman at a world championships, a silver in 2009.
Chat with Kikkan in our Ask the Athlete exhibit!
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
The World Watches:
1996 Women’s Gymnastics Team The 1996 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team, dubbed the “Magnificent Seven,” became the first American women’s gymnastics squad to win gold in the team competitions. The team included: Amanda Borden, Amy Chow, Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu, Jaycie Phelps, Kerri Strug, and Shannon Miller
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
LeRoy Neiman: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee won consecutive heptathlon titles at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992. She still holds the Olympic record in the women’s long jump and was named the Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Medal Collection: Margaret Abbott
When Margaret Abbott won the women’s golf tournament at Paris 1900, she became the first American woman to ever win an Olympic event. The Games were so disorganized that Abbott didn’t know she had won an Olympic event, and the fact wasn’t revealed until well after her death in 1955.
Public Domain
Nic Lehoux
To Take Part: Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton became the first American woman to win the allaround gold medal in gymnastics, scoring perfect 10s on the floor exercise and the vault at Los Angeles 1984. She won two silver medals and two bronze medals as well.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Medal Ceremony:
1996 Women’s Soccer Team The 1996 women’s soccer team won the first-ever gold medal in Olympic women’s soccer, playing in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s sporting event. The victory marked a pivotal and inspirational moment in international women’s sports.
International Olympic Committee
Nic Lehoux
Explore these and other great stories on the USOPM Digital Museum!
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