In the midst of all the drama surrounding the Rio Olympic Games--from Ryan Lochte's trail of lies to the fear of the Zika virus--one thing stands out as a positive result of decades of development in this country which is the overwhelming success of United States women and people of color in the 2016 Summer Olympics. From Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky to Ibtihaj Muhammad and Gabby Douglas to Michelle Carter and Kim Rhode, American women dominated the games in all sorts of events, winning a total of 61 medals, including 27 gold.
Source: Charlie Neibergall/AP (http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/21/49...)
This unprecedented success didn't happen by chance but rather, is the result of the Education Amendment Title IX, which was passed in 1972 and reads, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." Now, 44 years later, the benefits of this program are obvious, as the number of girls participating in high school sports has increased for the 25th consecutive year.
Source: www.knowyourIX.com
Women of color have come particularly far, from the first African American women who qualified for the Olympics for track and field in 1932 being banned from participation because of their race to Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Michelle Carter, and more representing the United States and medaling in their events in 2016. Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first American woman to wear a hijab while competing in the Olympics, and she took home a bronze medal in fencing. Claressa Shields, a 21 year old woman from Flint, Michigan, took home a gold medal in middleweight boxing. It is her second, following another gold in 2012. She became the first American boxer of either sex to win two Olympic titles in a row. Laurie Hernandez, a 16 year old Puerto Rican girl, dominated the balance beam routine for the women's gymnastics team, securing an individual gold medal, as well as a medal for the team.
With the numerous female role models, especially women of different races and ethnicities, the United States Olympic Team was more diverse this year than ever before. In a world in which young children, especially girls, are dissuaded from pursuing their talents in favor of more practical pastimes, the women of the Olympic Team will be iconic. Little girls have countless women to look up to and, who knows, in 20 or 40 years, perhaps we'll see the number of women participating in the Olympics double again. If we raise our daughters to be as strong and determined as this year's team, there is no limit to the greatness that they can achieve. The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics were legendary for women and they will go down in history as some of the greatest athletes of all time.
Source: Christy Knight (http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/momstron...)
