The 1921 Women's Olympiad and was the first international

women's sports The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

event, a 5-day multi-sport event organised by

Alice Milliat Alice Joséphine Marie Milliat née Million (5 May 1884 – 19 May 1957) was a pioneer of women's sport. Her lobbying on behalf of female athletes led to the accelerated inclusion of more women's events in the Olympic Games. A member of , a cl ...

and held on 24–31 March 1921 in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

at the International Sporting Club of Monaco. The tournament was formally called 1er Meeting International d'Education Physique Féminine de Sports Athlétiques. It was the first of three

Women's Olympiad The Women's World Games were the first international women's sports events in track and field. The games were held four times between 1922 and 1934. They were established by Alice Milliat and the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSF ...

s or "Monte Carlo Games" held annually at the venue, and the forerunner of the quadrennial Women's World Games, organised in 1922–34 by the

International Women's Sports Federation The Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale (FSFI) – or, in English, the International Women's Sports Federation – was founded in October 1921 by Alice Milliat because of the unwillingness of existing sports organisations, such as ...

founded by Milliat later in 1921.

Events

The games were organized by

and

Camille Blanc Camille Blanc (; 1847 in Paris – 1927), was a French municipal leader, with many interests in Monaco. From 1904 to 1925, he was founding mayor of Beausoleil, a town adjacent to Monte Carlo, which had previously formed part of La Turbie and had ...

, director of the "International Sporting Club de Monaco" as a response to the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

decision not to include women's events in the 1924 Olympic Games. The games were attended by 100 participants from 5 nations: France, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Norway (mentioned by several sources, however no Norwegian athletes appear in the result lists). The athletes competed in 10 events: running ( 60 metres, 250 metres, 800 metres, 4 x 75 metres relay, 4 x 175 metres relay and hurdling 65 metres),

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

standing long jump The standing long jump, also known as the standing broad jump, is an athletics event. It was an Olympic event until 1912. It is one of three standing variants of track and field jumping events, which also include the standing high jump and ...

(exhibition only),

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

and

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. The tournament also held exhibition events in basketball, gymnastics, pushball and

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

. The tournament was held at the "Tir aux Pigeons" in the gardens of the

Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo i ...

Results

All gold medals went to athletes from France and the United Kingdom. Medalists: The basketball tournament was won by Team Great Britain after a win in the final against Team France with 8–7. A special commemorative medal was issued for the participants. * Each athlete in the shot put and javelin throw events threw using their right hand, then their left. Their final mark was the total of the best mark with their right-handed throw and the best mark with their left-handed throw.

Legacy

The tournament was a great success and an important step for

Women's sports The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

. The

1922 Women's Olympiad The 1922 Women's Olympiad ( and ) was the second and

1923 Women's Olympiad The 1923 Women's Olympiad (, and ) was the fourth international event in women's sports, the tournament was held 4 to 7 April 1923 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The tournament was formally called "''Les Jeux Athlétiques Fémini ...

were held at the same Monaco venue; the 1922 event is sometimes confused with the

1922 Women's World Games The 1922 Women's World Games (French Jeux Olympiques Féminins, also "Women’s Olympic Games") were the first regular international Women's World Games and the first Track and field competitions for women. The tournament was held on a sing ...

held in Paris. The

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

unveiled a commemorative plaque at the site of the games in 2008.

References

External links

Image program (cover) (Vivremaville.mc)

Image medals (Worldathletics.org)

Mixed pictures 1921 Women's Olympiad (and 1922 Women's Olympiad) (Bibliothèque National de France-BNF)

Pictures 1921 Women's Olympiad (Historiatletismo)

Film from the 1921 Women's Olympiad (BritishPathe
{{Women's World Games Women's World Games International sports competitions hosted by Monaco 1921 in multi-sport events 1921 in sports 1921 in Monaco Multi-sport events in Monaco 1921 in women's sport