On the night of July 23, 1996 — in what came to be the signature image of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta — gymnast Kerri Strug shrugged off two torn ankle ligaments and successfully landed a highflying, double-twisting vault on one foot at the Georgia Dome.
Her score of 9.71 secured a first-ever team gold for the U.S. It also put a pointy-toed exclamation point on a two-week show of unified athletic dominance by American women at the Centennial Olympic Games. From Atlanta to Athens to Columbus, they also claimed the team gold medals in women’s basketball, softball, soccer and synchronized swimming — while also finishing first in all five track-and-field and swimming relays.
By the time it was over, some people had dubbed these the “Women’s Games.” But they could just as accurately have been described as the “Title IX Games.”
Almost a quarter-century earlier, a federal law had been enacted prohibiting gender discrimination in athletic programs at institutions that receive federal funds. Officially known as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, it meant colleges, high schools and other organizations now found themselves huddling to ensure they were offering equal sports opportunities based on sex.
Title IX has its critics, who say that the need to fund more women’s sports has forced some schools to eliminate certain men’s teams and programs. But it’s hard to argue it’s changed female lives. In 1971, one year before Title IX’s enactment, one in 27 girls competed in high school athletics, according to the Women’s Sports Foundation. By 1995, it was one in three.
The next year brought the first full generation’s worth of Title IX athletes to Atlanta to compete as U.S. Olympians.
And the gold rush was on for good.
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