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News > Sport

The Winter Olympics: Where Women Are Slowly Gaining Ground

  • Because Nordic Combined combines cross-country racing and ski-jumping, the sport has historically been out-of-bounds to female competitors.

    Because Nordic Combined combines cross-country racing and ski-jumping, the sport has historically been out-of-bounds to female competitors. | Photo: Reuters

Published 8 February 2018
Opinion

Both female athletes and athletes from non-European countries are slowly penetrating the previously male-dominated realm of the Winter Olympics.

The Korean unified women's ice hockey team, a gesture hinting at the possible reunification of North and South Korea, marks an interesting political milestone in the Winter Olympics – but it is by no means an isolated one. 

RELATED:

Unified Korean Women's Hockey Team Plays for First Time

When it comes to the issues of inclusion and progressiveness, the male-dominated, Eurocentric Winter Olympics still have a long way to go. Here's how they could raise their game.

Nordic Combined: where are the women?

The Nordic Combined scene has traditionally been dominated by Europe – most notably Norway, Finland and Germany – and, more specifically, by men. The International Ski Federation (FIS) barred women from competing until recently, but the first female athletes won't be competing until the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Because Nordic Combined combines cross-country racing and ski-jumping, the latter also closed to women until recently, the sport has historically been out-of-bounds to female competitors.

Women have been allowed to compete in the two separate disciplines since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, but combining them is still a no-go.

Joe Lamb, U.S. representative for the FIS, says it has to do with accommodation space and the International Olympic Committee's criteria for adding a new sport, including a history of world championships and athletes.

But ski jumper Lindsey Van, who holds the record for the longest jump among both male and female competitors, says his arguments make no sense – not least because women already have their own international championships and "meet all the technical requirements."

American ski jumper Lindsay Van

"Someone asked if my uterus would fall out ski jumping," she said. "People asked me that. I'm serious. Sometimes I thought, 'I don't even know how to answer your stupid question.'"

In 1991, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) ruled that all new Olympic sports should be open to both genders. However, because Nordic Combined's first competition was held in 1924, the new ruling didn't apply.

But in 2016, FIS Race Director Lasse Ottesen programmed a route sheet to finally include women in the Nordic Combined competition, but making that program a reality could yet take years.

For now, the FIS Council has vowed to include women in other championships, including the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the first FIS womens' World Cup in 2020.

Norwegian Nordic Combined skier Gunder Gundersen at the Oslo championship in Midtstubakken, 1958.
Photo: Oslo Museum
.

Cool Runnings 2.0

When Jamaica's male bobsled team made its debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, it instantly became the stuff of media legend – even being immortalized in a hit movie, Cool Runnings, starring Canadian comedy legend John Candy. The fact that a snowless, Caribbean island was competing in a winter sport captured the public imagination, and yet women – once again – were barred from taking part.

In bobsledding, as the name suggests, teams of two or four people ride a sled down a toboggan track. The four-man sled debuted at the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924; the two-man version in 1932. Women weren't allowed to compete until 2002, when the first two-woman sled made its competitive debut.

This year, not only is Jamaica sending its female bobsled team to the Olympics, but also they will be joined by Nigeria's female team – Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga – marking the first time an African nation has ever been represented at the Winter Olympics.

All three of Nigeria's team grew up in the United States, but will proudly represent their country of origin, along with Simidele Adeagbo in the women's Skeleton contest.

In order to make it all the way to Pyeonchang, the Nigerian team started a fundraiser, gathering almost US$100,000 in just 11 months.

"Our goal is to create a legacy where people will never be limited by the fear of the unknown," said Adigun.

The team has been compared with the Jamaican breakthrough in 1988 – a comparison they welcome. "Crazily enough I actually met the driver of the first Jamaican bobsled team (Dudley Stokes) today," said Akuoma on her arrival in South Korea.

"I thought: 'Oh my gosh; we're being compared to you!' So it's definitely been very cool."

Nigerian Women's Bobsled Team Ngozi Onwumere, Akuoma Omeoga and Seun Adigun in Lagos ahead of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, February 1. Photo: Reuters.

Chess on Ice

Known as "chess on ice," curling actually looks more like bowling – sort of. Four-player teams take turns to slide polished granite stones on ice with a broom, aiming at four concentric circles called "house." The teams need to place eight stones as close to the center of the house as possible. 

This year marks the first time a mixed double event will take place in the Winter Olympics, but gender-separate contests have been held before.

Curling had been an Olympic "demonstration" sport since 1924 until it was officially incorporated in 1998. Only then were women officially allowed to compete.

The earliest curling polished stone was discovered when a pond was drained in Dunblane, Scotland, bearing the inscription "1511." The sport was then exported to other regions of Europe, North America and New Zealand by Scottish immigrants as British colonialism expanded.

Scotland is still a very important place for curling, being the home of its World Federation, but Canada is now the sport's world champion with 10 Olympic medals. Scotland competes as part of Great Britain, holding four Olympic medals.

Few non-European teams participate in curling: only China, the United States, Japan and South Korea.

It's a contest based on accuracy and strategy. Stones accumulate, blocking other stones, and teams need to figure out how to get the best score by avoiding them. The round of eight stones is called an "end," and the match can last up to ten ends.

Curling had been an Olympic "demonstration" sport since 1924 until it was officially incorporated in 1998. Only then were women officially allowed to compete. Photo: Reuters

Skeletons in the Olympic Closet?

Skeleton gets its name from the sled it uses, which resembles the human thorax. The rider races solo along a toboggan track, head-first, steering using only their bodyweight and boot rakes. It's a speed contest, and experienced riders can hit up to 130km per hour.

Britain's Lizzy Yarnold in the BMW IBSF Bob & Skeleton World Championships in Koenigssee, Germany, 2017.
Photo: Reuters.

It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland, at the end of the 19th century. The town was already known for its winter sports and tobogganing. By way of raising the stakes, curves were added to the traditional toboggan, which made the skeleton rider's job altogether more challenging.

By 1892, the sport had established the distinct sled and racing position, and was becoming popular in other European countries which shared the necessary weather and economic conditions.

It was featured in the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948, but was still largely a European sport. It became a permanent Olympics fixture in the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Utah, with riders from all over the world competing – whether their home turf boasted practise snow or not.

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