Trailblazers – Who Were the First Women in Sports?

As of 2025, the levels of participation and coverage across various female sports are continuing to increase markedly. In fact, a record 46.7 million people watched female sport on television in 2023, with 21.2 million tuning in to see the BBC’s television coverage of the Women’s Soccer World Cup in July and August that year. England reached the final in Sydney, before losing to a superb Spanish team.

Of course, the leading sports betting sites are also looking to maximize their coverage of women’s sports, especially high-profile disciplines like soccer, cricket and boxing. But who were the very first women in sports and professional competition, and how did they blaze a trail for others to follow down the years?

• Looking Back at Historic Women in Sports
• Our Take on the Most Important Women in Sports History
• Elizabeth Wilkinson – The World’s First Female Combat Sports Competitor
• Ann Glanville – A Champion Rower and National Celebrity in the UK
• Hélène de Pourtalès – The First Gold Medallist at the Modern Olympics
• Babe Didrikson– The First Female Athlete to Receive an Endorsement
• Betty Champman – The First Ever African-American Woman to Play Professional Softball

Looking Back at Historic Women in Sports

Of course, you can chart the history of female sport back to the Heraean Games and Ancient Olympics in Greece and Rome. Even before then, however, illustrations on Egyptian temple walls from the Eleventh Dynasty have revealed women exercising and competing on ball games, with some etchings dating back to 2,000 BCE.

Around the 6th century BCE, the aforementioned Heraean Games hosted the first ever women’s athletic competition. This was held in the famous stadium at Olympia, where competitors would engage in a footrace as part of a much larger festival and celebration.

In terms of the Ancient Olympics, it was in 396 BCE that Cynisca became the first female competitor to win a medal. She entered a team comprising male charioteers to drive the horses that she trained, with this prevailing in the coveted four-horse chariot race against some significant competition.

Cynisca was the first of many important women in sports history, each of whom broke down social and cultural barriers in the pursuit of their passions. Cynisca also inspired Spartan charioteer Euryleonis to win the two-horse at the 368 BCE Olympics, establishing a pattern that has continued to this very day.

Our Take on the Most Important Women in Sports History

Of course, there are historic women in sports who are better known than Cynisca and Euryleonis. Many of these women were even able to turn professional and demonstrate a viable career path for other aspiring athletes, whereas some excelled in sports that were previously exclusively reserved for male competitors. With this in mind, here’s our take on the first women in sports and how their journey impacted future generations of stars!

Elizabeth Wilkinson – The World’s First Female Combat Sports Competitor

In June 1722, London-based Elizabeth Wilkinson challenged Hannah Hyfield of Newgate Market to a fight. This was the earliest advertised female prize fight in the capital, with Wilkinson earning a three-guinea payout when she stopped her opponent. She then challenged and beat a fishwife named Martha Jones in just 22 minutes, and allegedly went on to take part in 45 bare-knuckle bouts.

Not only was this before the time of Queensbury Rules, but Wilkinson’s career ended before the collation of official fight data. So, there’s no way of verifying precisely how many bouts she took part in, let alone the claim that Wilkinson actually ended her decade-long career unbeaten. However, she’s an undoubted trailblazer in the world of female combat sports, while she was often referred to as a “Championess” by fans.

Throughout the 1920s and 30s, Wilkinson was also renowned for being skilled with various combat weapons. These included daggers, short swords and quarterstaffs, while she would often team up with her husband to compete against other mixed-gender couples. Ultimately, she emerged as one of the most famous prize fighters of her time, with esteemed writers like Pierce Egan and Thomas Moore celebrating her career well into the 19th century.

Ann Glanville – A Champion Rower and National Celebrity in the UK

While Ann Glanville may not have been the first woman in sports, she achieved the unique distinction of regularly leading all-women rowing crews to stunning victories over male competitors. Perhaps her greatest triumph was recorded in August 1842, when Grenville led her crew to victory against the male rowers of the Grand Turk paddle steamer in a demonstration race.

This followed the refusal of the French to put up a team against Glanville’s crew, while the outcome saw Ann achieve national fame and celebrity status in England. This wasn’t the only time that Glanville and her colleagues had defeated esteemed all-male crews either, with one particular (if unverified) race from 1833 really standing out.

At this time, it was reported that Glanville once again visited Le Havre and managed to defeat the best 10 French male crews by 100 yards or more. This has also resulted in the national press describing Glanville as the ‘champion female rower of the world’ although subsequent research by A.T Goodman for the Old Cornwall Society has cast some doubt over the claims.

Still, this shouldn’t distract from Glanville’s immense achievements in the sport of rowing, especially her reputation as one of the first female sports stars to compete and win against men!

Hélène de Pourtalès – The First Gold Medallist at the Modern Olympics

The 1900 Olympics in Paris was the second iteration of the modern Summer Games, and the first to feature female competitors. In fact, female events were introduced across an array of different sports, including golf, tennis and croquet. There were also mixed sailing events, which which featured teams comprising male and female competitors.

It was the Swiss team that won gold in the prestigious 1–2-ton sailing event, which enabled Hélène de Pourtalès to collect a medal. In doing so, he became the first ever female athlete to win a gold medal at the modern Summer Olympics, confirming her status as one of the most ground-breaking and famous women in sports history.

At the same Summer Games in the French capital, Charlotte Cooper of Great Britain also became the first female to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. The five-time Wimbledon champion produced a straight sets win over Hélène Prévost in the Women’s Singles final, some two months after de Pourtalès had been part of a collective team success.

Despite this outstanding success, Cooper still wasn’t done. She subsequently won a second gold at the same Games, partnering with Reginald Doherty to win the mixed doubles title. They defeated Hélène Prévost and Harold Mahony in another dominant straight sets win, as Cooper became the first female athlete to win multiple gold medals at the modern Summer Olympics!

Babe Didrikson– The First Female Athlete to Receive an Endorsement

When it comes to truly historic women in sports, few stand out to the same degree as Babe Didrikson. Not only was she an exceptional multi-sport athlete who excelled in track and field, golf, baseball and basketball (not to mention bowling), but Didrikson was also the first ever female sports star to earn an official endorsement from a brand.

In this respect, she’s certainly one of the most important women in sports history, having blazed a trail for other female athletes to secure endorsements and maximize their earning potential. On the field, Didrikson won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics, before becoming a professional golfer and winning an impressive 10 LPGA major championships.

Her Olympic golds came in the javelin and 100-meter hurdles, highlighting her unique blend of speed, strength and athleticism. As a professional golfer, her 10-title haul included four victories at the Western Open, while she also triumphed three times at both the Titleholders Championship and U.S. Women’s Open.

After her Olympic success in 1932, the Associated Press named Didrikson as the Woman Athlete of the Year for track and field. She subsequently bought a Dodge too, at which point the Chrysler brand decided to endorse Didrikson and run an ad that featured the athlete praising the car’s unique benefits.

Interestingly, this also compelled her to pursue a professional sports career, as the Amateur Athletic Union banned Didrikson from competition without a hearing after the incident.

Betty Chapman – The First Ever African-American Woman to Play Professional Softball

In 1895, Chicago’s West Division High School launched the world’s first ever all-female softball team, which continued to compete despite not having an official coach for four years. However, there wasn’t an official professional competition for women until 1975, when the International Women’s Professional Softball League was launched.

Women did play professionally before this date, albeit on a much smaller and less organized scale. Betty Chapman’s name is particularly well-known, as she became the first ever African-American woman to play professional softball. She starred as an outfielder for the Admiral Music Maids, who plied their trade in the National Girls Baseball League of Chicago.

So, not only did Chapman help to inspire other women to carve out professional sports careers, but she also broke down colour barriers prior to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Chapman signed for the Admiral Music Maids in 1951, setting her on the way to becoming one of the most influential women in sports history.

At the end of Chapman’s ground-breaking and stellar software career, she was afforded a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the National Philanthropy Day Luncheon in Miami. This was a fitting accolade for such a courageous and talented athlete, who paved the way for other women of color to chase their own sporting dreams!