Paris 2024 will have a male majority, contradicting promises of gender equality

Three years ago, the IOC announced the program for the Paris Olympic Games. Gender equality among athletes is a challenge, with predictions of up to 100 to 200 more male athletes. Equestrian sports stand out for their disparity, despite the equal conditions. Sports such as tennis, track and field and swimming also show unequal numbers. The final list of athletes will be released by the IOC with possible adjustments by July 26.

Challenges in the distribution of vacancies

Three years ago, the IOC announced the initial distribution of Olympic spots with the aim of promoting gender equality at the Games. While sports such as wrestling, football and water polo featured more male athletes, rhythmic gymnastics and artistic swimming sought to achieve greater balance with robust female representation. However, challenges persist in sports such as equestrian, track and field, swimming and tennis, where male representation is predominant. Despite these disparities, this edition of the Olympics marks a significant step forward towards gender equality.

At the Tokyo Games, 11,319 athletes participated, 5,910 men and 5,409 women, reflecting a growing balance in gender representation. The Brazilian delegation, made up of 276 athletes, stands out for its female majority, representing 55% of the total. In Olympic equestrianism, men and women compete equally for places and medals, with no distinction between events by gender. Of the 200 available places, some delegations have not yet confirmed their final numbers, with a small difference expected, with approximately 60 more men than women in this modality.

Gender equity in the modalities

Swimming and track and field, being the sports with the largest number of athletes, face challenges in the search for gender equity due to universality quotas. These spots are reserved for countries without qualified athletes, and are filled according to the criteria of the national committees, without requiring gender balance. According to a survey by ge, there is a forecast of an excess of 21 male athletes in track and field and 69 in swimming. The final list will be officially released by the IOC on July 26.

In tennis, there is currently an imbalance with six extra places for men due to withdrawals of highly ranked athletes. In the other Olympic sports, the gender distribution varies, sometimes favoring more men and sometimes more women. For example, in rowing, coxswains can be of any gender in all events, while in badminton, two French athletes were added due to errors in the world rankings. The Refugee delegation, which received several places, has a larger male representation. The total number of athletes will be officially announced by the IOC at the opening ceremony on July 26, subject to change due to relocations, injuries, doping sanctions and revisions to the rankings of less traditional countries.

Featured photo: equestrianism is one of the categories that will have more men than women (reproduction/Rodrigo Pessoa/ge)