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 first time for both men and women. They competed in the singles and doubles disciplines. Also, a female specific sailing event debuted at these Games, the women's 470 discipline. For the first time women competed in a track cycling event, the sprint. In 1991, the IOC made it mandatory for all new sports applying for Olympic recognition to have female competitors. However, this rule only applied to new sports applying for Olympic recognition. This meant that any sports that were included in the Olympic programme prior to 1991 could continue to exclude female participants at the discretion of the sport's