Participation of women in the Olympics 20% minimum presence of women on their committee. The first Olympic Games to feature female athletes was the 1900 Games in Paris. Hélène de Pourtalès of Switzerland became the first woman to compete at the Olympic Games and became the first female Olympic champion by being a part of the winning team in the first 1 to 2 ton sailing event on May 22, 1900. Briton Charlotte Cooper became the first female individual champion by winning the women's singles tennis competition on July 11, 1900. Tennis and golf were the only sports where women could compete in individual disciplines. 22
Participation of women in the Olympics held in Berlin but were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I. In 1920, 65 women competed at the Games. Archery was re-added to the programme. Paris 1924 boasted a record 135 female athletes. Fencing was added to the programme and archery was removed. 1924 saw the inception of the Winter Olympics where women competed in the sole sport of figure skating. Herma Szabo became the first ever female Winter Olympic champion after she won the ladies' singles competition. At the summer Games held the same year in Paris, women's fencing made its debut with Dane, Ellen Osiier