Duncan Mackay
Hassiba Boulmerka
When Hassiba Boulmerka arrived home in Algiers after her 1E500m victory at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, she expected a heroine’s welcome.
Instead she was booed and jeered by Islamic Fundamentalists who objected to her running in shorts and vest.
“For Muslim women I symbolise freedom but, believe me, many people think it’s not appropriate for women to take part in sport dressed in clothes that show parts of our bodies,” said Boulmerka. “For democrats, women’s sport is one way of furthering equality between men and women, and creating a degree of tolerance.
“For the conservative and religious leaders, we become the first targets in the fight to halt the progress and symbol of all that is bad in Algerian society.”
Derartu Tulu
Deratu Tulu made history in Barcelona in 1992 when she became the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal. It had been an uphill struggle for the daughter of an Ethiopian shepherd.
As far as her father was concerned, running was a means of transport to and from school – not for recreation. For a brief period, he banned Tulu from running because he considered it unladylike and then, after he relented, he insisted she wore long trousers.
It was only when she brought back her Olympic gold medal that he finally gave his official permission for her to run. “Sometimes, even now if there are a lot of people around me when I run, I feel intimidated,” said Tulu, who is a secular Christian.
Katherine Switzer
American schoolteacher Katherine Switzer was never a world-class athlete but paved the way for runners like Liz McColgan and Catherina McKiernan.
She made history in 1967 when she became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon at a time when females were officially barred from the race because it was considered they were incapable of running so far.
Jock Semple, the Scottish-born race director, tried desperately to stop Switzer from finishing the race by attempting to manhandle her off the course but was restrained by her hammer- throwing boyfriend.
Switzer’s performance proved to be the catalyst for change and within three years Boston bowed to the pressure and introduced fully mixed fields. Today, the women run for the same $80E000 first prize as the men.
Rosa Mota
When Rosa Mota now runs round the streets of Porto, her home city, she is fted and people call out her name in respect. But 20 years ago, when she was a young girl, passers-by would throw stones at her and chase her.
“Women were not supposed to be allowed to do sport,” she said.
But when Mota won the European Championship marathon in Athens in 1982 the Portuguese public’s attitude changed dramatically. It led to an explosion in long-distance running among women and Portugal now has a whole squad of world-beating female athletes.
“Of all my achievements, the fact that I changed people’s feelings is the greatest,” said Mota, the 1988 Olympic champion.
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