Participation of women in the Olympics winning the inaugural gold. At the 1928 Winter Games in St. Moritz, no changes were made to any female events. Fifteen year old Sonja Henie won her first of three Olympic gold medals. The summer Games of the same year saw the debut of women's athletics and gymnastics. In athletics, women competed in the 100 metres, 800 metres, 4 × 100 metres relay, high jump and discus throw. The 800-metre race was controversial as many competitors were reportedly exhausted or were unable to complete the race. Consequentially, the IOC decided to drop the 800 metres from the programme, and not
Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics in athletics which had many qualified athletes available for events typically held selection trials to determine their teams (such as the 2016 United States Olympic Trials), or relied on panel decisions by their national governing bodies to determine which athletes could compete. At the opening ceremony two figures from the sport of athletics played a key role: Olympic medallist in the marathon, Vanderlei de Lima, lit the Olympic flame for his home nation, while Kenya's Kipchoge Keino became the first recipient of the Olympic Laurel for his efforts in promoting sport. Unlike most Summer Olympic Games, the athletics stadium was