1924 Women's Olympiad


The 1924 Women's Olympiad was the first international competition for women in track and field in the United Kingdom. The tournament was held on 4 August 1924 in London, United Kingdom.

Events

After the successful first 1922 Women's World Games in Paris and the three Women's Olympiads in Monaco the interest for women's sports also grew internationally. In 1922 the "Women's Amateur Athletic Association" was founded in the UK: the WAAA organised the first official British women championships in track and field on 18 August 1923 at the Oxo Sports Ground in Downham outside London. In the US the "Amateur Athletic Union" organised the first official American women championships in track and field on 29 September 1923 at Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey.
The 1924 Women's Olympiad was organised in cooperation with the newspapers News of the World, Sporting Life and Daily Mirror in cooperation with the WAAA and the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale under chairwoman Alice Milliat.
The games were attended by participants from 8 nations: Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA. The tournament was a huge promotion for women's sports.
TeamNationParticipants
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The athletes competed in 12 events: running, netball and gymnastics.
The multi-sport event was held at "Stamford Bridge" in Fulham in southwest London. The games attended an audience of 25,000 spectators.

Results

Almost all medals went to athletes from France and the United Kingdom.
During the games 7 world records were set: Mary Lines in hurdling 120 yd and running 250 m, Edith Trickey in running 1000 m, Albertine Regel in walking 1000 m, Elise van Truyen in high jump, Violett Morris in discus and Louise Groslimond in javelin. Poorly performed measuring however led to that only 2 records, Trickey in running 1000 metres and Regel in walking 1000 metres, later were ratified.
Results in each event:
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Legacy

The tournament was a huge promotion for women's sports, a follow-up was held in 1925 also at Stamford Bridge. In 1926 the second regular Women's World Games were held at Gothenburg.