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
Participation of women in the Olympics major upset, winning the gold, the nation's first ever Olympic medal. However, these Olympics were marred by the US-led boycott of the games due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The women's 20 kilometre cross-country skiing event was added to the programme for the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo. Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen of Finland dominated the cross-country events, winning gold in all three distances. Multiple new events for women were competed in at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Synchronized swimming made its debut, with only women competing in the competition. The host Americans won gold in both the solo