Have you heard of Alice Milliat? Her name, long forgotten, resurfaces on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Games. It must be said that this feminist organized the first Women's Olympic Games in history in the early 1920s. Her determination allowed women to enter the Olympic adventure on the same level as male athletes. We invite you to discover this woman with an extraordinary destiny.
Alice Milliat (1884-1957) is almost unknown to the general public. Yet, she is a significant figure in the feminist movement and women's sports.
At the beginning of the 20th century, when it was rare to see a woman practicing any sport other than gymnastics, she became known for her sporting achievements in rowing, swimming, and field hockey. In the 1910s, she even became a rowing champion.
It was in London that this young woman from Nantes was able to try all these disciplines. After her marriage to Joseph Milliat in London in 1904, she lived in England until 1908. Upon her return to France, she was determined to continue her own sporting practice and to promote sports for women.
Long before women were accepted in most Olympic disciplines, Alice Milliat campaigned for them to be able to play football, basketball, rugby, or hockey and participate in sports competitions on an equal footing with men.
In 1917, she publicly declared: "Yes, women have the right to sport! Do not bring up that old cliché that she must stay at home to darn socks."
To honor her fight, a European foundation in favor of women's sports was named the Alice Milliat Foundation (see the link below). In Paris, a gymnasium in the 14th arrondissement as well as the esplanade of the new Arena at Porte de la Chapelle bear her name.
In her fight for gender equality in the world of sports, Alice Milliat wanted to use the Olympic Games as a symbol. She asked the International Olympic Committee, the famous IOC, for the possibility for women to participate in this emblematic event.
She wished for women's athletics events to be held at the 1920 Games in Antwerp. But the IOC president at the time, Pierre de Coubertin, categorically refused her request.
Far from discouraging her, this refusal motivated her to organize the first edition of the Women's Olympic Games in Paris in 1922. The idea was not to compete with the official events but to show the public that women were also capable of excelling in sports competitions.
The event was held in a stadium in the Bois de Vincennes in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. 20,000 people came to support the English, American, Swiss, Czechoslovakian, and French athletes participating in this world premiere.
Since this first edition was a success, the creator of the Women's Olympic Games would renew the experience four more times, until 1934. She is now recognized as a pioneer of contemporary sports. Moreover, a statue in her likeness was unveiled in the hall of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee in Paris, alongside that of Pierre de Coubertin, on March 8, 2021.
Even though Alice Milliat remained in the shadow of Pierre de Coubertin for a long time, this woman ahead of her time helped her peers make history in the Olympics and her name resurfaces on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Games!
In 1928, three years after Pierre de Coubertin completed his term as head of the IOC, women were finally allowed to officially participate in the Amsterdam Olympic Games.
During these Games, female athletes were limited to athletics events only. But Alice Milliat was able to witness this great advancement for women's sports in person. She was indeed present at the competition, serving as a judge for men's events!
As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have just begun, this committed and visionary athlete would surely have appreciated the perfect parity observed there. For the very first time in the history of the Olympic Games, there are as many women as men among the 10,500 participating athletes!
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