Have you ever wondered who the first women were to win an Olympic Gold across different disciplines? Let’s take a look at some of those women who scripted history and changed the landscape for women’s victories.
The First Woman to Win Any Gold was Hélène de Pourtalès. She achieved this during the 1900 Summer Olympics as a member of the mixed 1-2 ton sailing event.
First Woman to Win an Individual Gold was Charlotte Cooper (Great Britain).
Sport: Tennis (Singles)
When? 1900 Paris Summer Olympics
Let’s take a look at some of the other female winners at the Summer Olympics:
(The lists do not reflect every discipline)
| Sport | Athlete / Team | Nation | Year | Notes |
| Sailing | Hélène de Pourtalès | Switzerland | 1900 | First female Olympic champion overall (1–2 ton mixed crew). |
| Tennis | Charlotte Cooper | Great Britain | 1900 | First individual female champion (Women’s Singles). |
| Golf | Margaret Abbott | United States | 1900 | Won the first women’s golf tournament. |
| Archery | Sybil “Queenie” Newall | Great Britain | 1908 | Won National Round at age 53. |
| Aquatics (Swimming) | Fanny Durack | Australasia | 1912 | Won 100m Freestyle at Stockholm 1912. |
| Aquatics (Diving) | Aileen Riggin | United States | 1920 | Won 3-meter springboard at age 14. |
| Fencing | Ellen Osiier | Denmark | 1924 | Won the foil individual title undefeated. |
| Athletics (Track & Field) | Elizabeth Robinson | United States | 1928 | Won 100m, the first women’s track event held. |
| Gymnastics | Netherlands Team | Netherlands | 1928 | Team All-Around (first women’s gymnastics event). |
| Gymnastics (Individual) | Maria Gorokhovskaya | Soviet Union | 1952 | First individual all-around champion. |
| Equestrian | Lis Hartel | Denmark | 1952 | Won Dressage silver (mixed); Henriette Saint Cyr (Sweden) won gold in individual dressage. |
| Canoeing / Kayaking | Karen Hoff | Denmark | 1948 | K-1 500m event. |
| Rowing | Bulgaria (W4+) / USSR | Bulgaria / USSR | 1976 | Women’s events debuted at Montreal 1976. |
| Basketball | Soviet Union Team | Soviet Union | 1976 | Debut of women’s basketball tournament. |
| Handball | Soviet Union Team | Soviet Union | 1976 | Debut of women’s handball tournament. |
| Volleyball | Japan Team | Japan | 1964 | Tokyo 1964 debut. |
| Field Hockey | Zimbabwe Team | Zimbabwe | 1980 | Moscow 1980 debut. |
| Judo | Cécile Nowak / Kim Mi-jung | France / S. Korea | 1992 | Barcelona 1992 debut. |
| Badminton | Susi Susanti | Indonesia | 1992 | Won Women’s Singles at Barcelona 1992. |
| Table Tennis | Chen Jing | China | 1992 | Won Women’s Singles at Seoul 1988. |
| Football (Soccer) | United States Team | United States | 1996 | Atlanta 1996 debut. |
| Softball | United States Team | United States | 1996 | Atlanta 1996 debut. |
| Taekwondo | Lauren Burns / Jung Jae-eun | Australia / S. Korea | 2000 | Sydney 2000 debut. |
| Triathlon | Brigitte McMahon | Switzerland | 2000 | Sydney 2000 debut. |
| Weightlifting | Izabela Dragneva | Bulgaria | 2000 | Sydney 2000 debut. |
| Modern Pentathlon | Stephanie Cook | Great Britain | 2000 | Sydney 2000 debut. |
| Wrestling | Irini Merleni / Kaori Icho | Ukraine / Japan | 2004 | Athens 2004 debut. |
| BMX Cycling | Anne-Caroline Chausson | France | 2008 | Beijing 2008 debut. |
| Boxing | Nicola Adams | Great Britain | 2012 | Flyweight division debut at London 2012. |
| Rugby Sevens | Australia Team | Australia | 2016 | Rio 2016 debut. |
| Skateboarding | Momiji Nishiya | Japan | 2020 | Street event debut at Tokyo 2020 (aged 13). |
| Surfing | Carissa Moore | United States | 2020 | Tokyo 2020 debut. |
| Sport Climbing | Janja Garnbret | Slovenia | 2020 | Tokyo 2020 debut. |
| Breaking (Breakdancing) | Ami Yuasa (“B-Girl Ami”) | Japan | 2024 | Paris 2024 debut. |
First Women to win a Gold at the Winter Olympics:
| Sport | Athlete / Team | Nation | Year | Notes |
| Figure Skating | Madge Syers | Great Britain | 1908 | Won gold at the 1908 Summer Olympics (before Winter Games existed). |
| Alpine Skiing | Gretchen Fraser | United States | 1948 | Won Slalom at St. Moritz 1948. |
| Cross-Country Skiing | Lyubov Kozyreva | Soviet Union | 1956 | 10 km race at Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956. |
| Speed Skating | Helga Haase | East Germany | 1960 | 500m event at Squaw Valley 1960. |
| Luge | Ortrun Enderlein | United Germany | 1964 | Innsbruck 1964 debut. |
| Biathlon | Anfisa Reztsova | Unified Team | 1992 | 7.5km sprint at Albertville 1992. |
| Freestyle Skiing | Donna Weinbrecht | United States | 1992 | Moguls debut at Albertville 1992. |
| Short Track Speed Skating | Cathy Turner | United States | 1992 | 500m event at Albertville 1992. |
| Curling | Canada Team | Canada | 1998 | Nagano 1998 official debut. |
| Ice Hockey | United States Team | United States | 1998 | Nagano 1998 debut. |
| Snowboarding | Karine Ruby | France | 1998 | Giant Slalom debut at Nagano 1998. |
| Bobsleigh | Jill Bakken & Vonetta Flowers | United States | 2002 | Two-woman event at Salt Lake City 2002. |
| Skeleton | Tristan Gale | United States | 2002 | Salt Lake City 2002 debut. |
| Monobob | Kaillie Humphries | United States | 2022 | Women’s Monobob debut at Beijing 2022. |
