Female Olympians inspire local athletes

For the first time in history, the U.S. Olympic team has more female than male athletes, with the women outnumbering the men by eight.

Also for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, all of the more than 200 countries participating have men and women competing.

"I've seen the transition from Title IX to where we are now and it is pretty amazing," said Barb Moberg, 61, a retired Marietta physical education teacher. "I think it is also exciting and incredibly motivating to young kids."

Article Photos

The Associated Press
Misty May-Treanor, right, and Kerri Walsh-Jennings, left, of the U.S. celebrate winning a point against Australia in their beach volleyball match Saturday.

The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 prevented sex discrimination in schools and required that women and girls had the same opportunity to participate in sports as their males counterparts.

Prior to the passage of Title IX, Olympic medalist in swimming Donna de Verona could not obtain a college swimming scholarship because no such thing was available to women.

"I think now we're actually seeing the effects of Title IX," said Kelly Harris, head women's rowing coach at Marietta College. "I saw in the opening ceremony when they read the statistic (that women outnumber men) but I wasn't surprised, given how many women are involved in sports."

Now all eyes are on female athletes like Missy Franklin, who, at age 17 is breaking swimming records and winning medals in a sport where the men have often taken the headlines; gymnasts Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber; and Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor, the U.S. women's volleyball duo going after their third gold medal.

"I always try to watch volleyball," said Alexis Walsh, 17, a Marietta High School senior and outside hitter for the Lady Tigers volleyball team. "All of the women's sports are doing really well this year."

Walsh said she looks up to female athletes like Walsh-Jennings and May-Treanor.

"They have to devote so much time to training and I think it has positively impacted all the kids out there," she said.

Mandy Davis, 30, is a mother of two children, ages 1 and 3, and is an athlete who agrees that female Olympians are role models. The former Warren High School and Shawnee State University volleyball player and coach said she believes the fact that women outnumber men this year is right on target.

"Women have slowly but surely become more confident in their ability to juggle their personal lives, families and sports," she said. "I also think our thoughts and views on where women belong have changed."

Davis' mother, Sandra Goin, is the assistant Marietta High School volleyball coach and thinks that men have an advantage over women, strictly because of their physical composition. But women are capable of pushing harder, she said.

"I think it shows a lot about the mentality of women that they have to work a lot harder and train all year to keep up their athletic ability," she said. "I'm very excited that there are more women in the Olympics. It shows how hard women have had to work to get recognition."

The Olympics have come a long way since the first time women competed in 1900, when the only sports females were permitted to play were lawn tennis, croquet and golf.

Now, in 2012, women are making their Olympics debut in the boxing ring.

"This whole process has been a dream come true," Queen Underwood, women's lightweight boxing competitor, told The Associated Press.

Underwood didn't secure an Olympic berth until five weeks before the start of the London games.

"So many women have worked so hard to get us here, and now we just want to go out and put on a great show for everybody, and show we deserve the right to be right next to the men at the Olympics," she said.