The Paris 2024 Olympics is a turning point for gender equality in sports, said Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, the new vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
For the first time in its 128-year history, the Olympics is poised to achieve an exact 50-50 gender split among its participants, marking a notable milestone. Projections indicate that 10,500 athletes are set to compete in Paris, with an equal representation of 5,250 men and 5,250 women.
According to El Moutawakel, who took gold in the inaugural women's 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the achievement was made possible thanks to Olympic leadership.
"For the first time we witness 50-50 in terms of gender equality. And this is because of the strategic plan that was put in place by the IOC President Thomas Bach, who believed in the power of women and the presence of women in managing the sport. And to see, 50 percent on the field and more to come in terms of management of the sports and governance of the sports, it's something sensational, something unique, something that we have dreamed of for so many years. It is going to happen here and now in Paris," she in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network after the Alibaba Evening on Wednesday in Paris.
The newly elected IOC vice president also credited the determination of women athletes and sports professionals from around the world.
"Thanks to all those like Catherine, like Nadia Comaneci, all those who for many years were advocating, speaking up for women's rights, for women's presence in the sports, in the field," said Moutawakel
During the Alibaba Evening event, China's Alibaba Group and the IOC jointly launched a short film titled "To the Greatness of HER", an eight-minute video tribute to the evolution of gender equality in sports since the 19th century. The film shines a light on the significant challenges that female athletes have encountered.
Moved by the film, El Moutawakel said she was awestruck to witness such progress in recent decades, including seeing an equal number of events for men and women in this year's Olympics.
"To see women competing in (32) sports, women coming from every single national Olympic committee, more than 200 national committees around the globe, all these women living under one roof in the Olympic Village, being treated equally, isn't this magic? This is the magic of the sports, the magic of everyone involved in the sports," she said.
On Wednesday, El Moutawakel and Argentina's Gerardo Werthein were elected as IOC vice presidents, whose terms of office will start on August 10 after the conclusion of the 142nd IOC Session, when the terms of John Coates and Ser Miang Ng come to an end.
Eight new IOC members - four women and four men - were also elected. The terms of office for six of them will begin immediately, while one will start at the end of the Paris Olympics and one on January 1, 2025.
Women now account for 42.3 percent of IOC members, with 47 women out of a total of 111 members.
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Dream come true as Paris 2024 becomes first gender-equal Olympics: IOC vice president