Pershing Stadium, Paris, France, August 20, 1922
The first Women’s Olympic Games were held at Pershing Stadium in Paris in the latter half of August 1922. The event was organized by the Women’s Sports Federation FSFI, led by Madame Milliat. The schedule was not unnecessarily prolonged; all 11 track and field events were completed in a single day.
These games were Milliat’s countermeasure against the exclusion of women’s track and field from the 1924 Paris Olympics. The International Olympic Committee did not approve of the FSFI using the term “Olympic” in the name of their event. When the Olympic Committee finally agreed to include women’s track and field events in the 1928 Olympics, FSFI agreed to change the name of their event to the Women’s World Games.
Mary Lines maintained her status as the world’s best female athlete. She won the 300 metres and the 4x110 yard relay in Paris. She took silver in the 60 metres and bronze in the 100 yards, in which Czechoslovakia’s Marie Mejzlikova II set a world record of 11.4 seconds (equivalent to 12.4 seconds for 100 metres) in the heats. Lines ran the first leg of the 4x100 meters relay in 12.8 seconds on the Pershing Stadium’s 500-meter track, which the FSFI recognized as the official world record for the distance.
The United States participated in international women’s track and field competitions for the first time even though the national championships for women were not held until the following year. Future school teacher Camille Sabie from New Jersey, who lived to be 95, won the 100-yard hurdles and the standing long jump.
1-3 (Wikipedia)
Alice Milliat and the Women’s Games (LA84 Digital Library)
Women’s World Games (1922–1934) (Teresa Drozdek-Maolepsza
Camille Sabie (third from the left) races to her second victory in the 100-yard hurdles.
International Sporting Club of Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco, March 15-23, 1921
The second Women’s Olympiad was held in Monte Carlo, next to the famous casino on the pigeon shooting range. This time, Mary Lines won the 250 metres, the long jump, and the 4x175 metres relay.
Violette Morris of France won the shot put event, with the combined total of throws using both hands. Morris was a colourful character of her time, favouring men’s clothing, being a chain-smoking lesbian who swore frequently. During World War II, she collaborated with the German occupiers. She was killed in an ambush by French resistance fighters.
Film (British Pathé)
1-3 (Wikipedia)