The first Olympic Games to feature female athletes was the 1900 Games in Paris. Hélène de Pourtalès of Switzerland became the first woman to compete at the Olympic Games and became the first female Olympic champion, as a member of the winning team in the first 1 to 2 ton sailing event on May 22, 1900. Briton Charlotte Cooper became the first female individual champion by winning the women's singles tennis competition on July 11. Tennis and golf were the only sports where women could compete in individual disciplines. 22 women competed at the 1900 Games, 2.2% of all the competitors.
The youngest Olympian in the modern era is Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras, who competed in the 1896 Athens Olympics at the age of 10. At age 13, springboard diver Marjorie Gestring is the youngest female individual gold medalist in history, while 14-year-old Kusuo Kitamura (swimming) is the youngest male individual gold medalist.
Annabelle Paterson, co-creator of this website, is also a Harvard swimmer. She has been able to grow a lot personally and meet amazing people through swimming, without going to the olympics. Here is the time she met the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps.
