History Of Women's Track & Field

The first recorded marathon took place in 776 BC at the early Greek Olympic Games. Back then, the state banned women from competition, and married women could not even watch from the stands. Track and Field has come a long way since those early days, and some of the women who have competed over the years have achieved greatness.

Ancient Origins

Pausanias describes the story of Callipteira in which a widow disguises herself as an Olympic trainer in order to watch her son compete. "As she was jumping over the enclosure in which they keep the trainers shut up, bared her person. So her sex was discovered, but they let her go unpunished out of respect for her father, her brothers and her son, all of whom had been victorious at Olympia." After that, everyone had to prove his gender before entering the stadium. Later, the city of Elis created games for unmarried women called the Heraea Games. The council, named The Sixteen Women, shortened the distances for the female athletes.

Modern Track and Field

As early as the 1100s, England developed track and field events as you watch them today. By the 1800s, the sport had grown, finally reaching international acceptance in the 1896 Olympic Games; Yet, there were no international women's track and field competitions until 1936. Title IX was passed in 1972 to prohibit discrimination against females in federally funded schools. The Title IX guidelines were not enforced until 1988 when the Civil Rights Restoration Act mandated that any school receiving any federal funding, not just for athletic programs, could not discriminate based on gender. Therefore, athletic programs for females had to receive the same money as programs for males.

Women's Track Record Holders

Despite a sluggish road to equality on the track field, some female runners have become world-renowned stars in the sport. Florence Griffith Joyner's 100 and 200-meter dash records, set in 1998, remain unbroken. Ultramarathoner, Tomoe Abe, completed the 100K, which is the equivalent of about 62 miles --- more than double regular marathon distance --- in about six and a half hours.

Women's Field Event Record Holders

The heptathlon is a seven-event series of competitions including the events shot put, javelin throw, long jump, high jump, hurdle race, 200-meter and 800-meter race. Jackie Joyner-Kersee still holds the world record for the heptathlon, which she set in 1988. In 2010, Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland set a record for the hammer throw. Russian Yelena Isinbayeva set the world standard for the pole vault.