Breathe
By Cynthia Dávalos
Imagine the silence of a pool at dawn, the echo of a perfect dive or the scream of a crowd in an Olympic stadium. Behind those moments that make us vibrate are women who have not only competed, but have broken barriers to redefine the entire game.
Sport, historically dominated by men, is undergoing a transformation driven by women. Ever since Charlotte Cooper, a British tennis player, became the first Olympic champion during the first Olympic Games in which women were allowed to participate, in Paris 1900. We knew that an important path was opening up for women.
Now with María José Alcalá, president of the Mexican Olympic Committee, to Kirsty Coventry, recently elected as the first woman to head the International Olympic Committee, women's leadership is no longer an exception, but a force that opens gaps and brings fresh perspectives. Why does it matter so much? What has it taken to get here? I'll tell you.
It has been a hard-won path. The IOC, founded in 1894, did not have women among its members until 1981, when Flor Isava Fonseca and Pirjo Häggman broke the ice. In Mexico, it took almost a hundred years for a woman to lead the COM. Female representation in the IOC went from 21% in 2013 to 42.3% in 2024, and its Executive Board reached 46.7% after Paris (IOC Gender Equality Report, 2024). But these advances did not come alone, there were major obstacles.
In Mexico, María José Alcalá, former Olympic athlete, assumed the presidency of the COM in 2021 and was reelected for 2024-2028, becoming the first woman to lead this institution in 98 years. Her administration seeks to empower athletes, guided by a motto of inclusion. At the global level, Kirsty Coventry, double Olympic champion from Zimbabwe, took the reins of the IOC on March 20, 2025. First woman of African origin in the position, she promises to strengthen athletes' rights.
Leaders like Coventry and Alcalá prioritize issues such as equality, support for sports mothers and anti-bullying, transforming sport into a more equitable space.
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