BALANCE ON THE PINNACLE

The path to gender equity in the Olympics has been a long and twisted one, but when the sailors assemble in Marseille next year, we'll finally see what's been a long time coming.

- GARY JOBSON

THE Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be the first time there will be gender equity in the sailing competition determined by an equal number of male and female athletes, along with the number of medals that can be won, a momentous achievement that took 50 years of effort by sailing's leadership and recognition by the International Olympic Committee. With the benefit of hindsight, one might wonder why gender equity in sailing wasn't automatic when the modern Games were reestablished in 1896. A good question for historians, but we are in a better place now.

The opportunities for women have grown substantially over the past few decades, and the performance of female sailors has improved as a direct result. The days when women had limited opportunities are behind us, which is quite amazing given the Adams Cup for the North American Women's Championship was once one of a few top-tier regattas in the United States specifically for women. It was extremely rare for a woman to compete in the Olympic Games, and I was around for the start of the discussion to include a separate class for women in the Olympics. The year was 1975. I was the 25-year-old coach of the American squad that raced in the newly created European Women's Championship in Mataró, Spain. The small seaport resort was about 40 miles northeast of Barcelona. The US entered two crews in both the singlehanded and doublehanded disciplines.

One evening late in the regatta, a forum was held to discuss the possibility of creating a Women's World Championship and adding a class dedicated for women in the Olympic Games. It sounded like a bold concept at the time. Surprisingly, several women spoke out against the idea. Their message was they didn't want a separate division; they wanted the opportunity to race against men. The conclusion at the end of the long session was to meet again one year later and propose the concept to the International Yacht Racing Union.