The Original Game » first modern Olympics that even allowed women to

When Charlotte Cooper won gold in womens tennis at the 1900 Paris Olympics, it was nothing short of remarkable. Cheapest Adidas NMD .She played in an ankle-length Victorian dress and couldnt hear a sound, having?gone completely deaf years earlier. She represented Great Britain -- a country that had yet to recognize the womens right to vote like so many others at the time. Paris was the first modern Olympics that even allowed women to compete after the addition of womens tennis and golf to the Games. In winning, Cooper became the first woman ever to earn an individual Olympic gold medal.More than a century later, some 4,700 women traveled to Rio in hopes of following in her footsteps -- the highest number of women ever. As they competed on the largest world stage in sports, it became clear how far women have come from the days of Charlotte Cooper -- and how far they have yet to go.Saudi Arabia set a country record by doubling the number of women it sent to the Olympics, with four women traveling to Rio for only the second Summer Games that Saudi women were permitted to compete.Rafaela Silva won Brazils first gold medal in Rio in a triumphant comeback from her judo loss at the previous Olympics in London. Yet in an emotional interview after her championship match, she noted how little support she received from her fellow Brazilians.Everyone criticized me. They said judo wasnt for me, said Silva, who as a black woman from a poor neighborhood in Rio, has overcome many hurdles to get where she is today. They said I was an embarrassment to my family. And now Im an Olympic champion in my own home.Media coverage offered other reflections of gender bias. Of the record 170 commentators, around 20 percent were women. The skewed representation of women reporters could help explain why some commentators referred to women athletes as girls, or why some outlets seemed to give credit to athletes husbands instead of the women themselves. One study of Olympic news coverage found that media reports focused on womens age and marital status, while highlighting mens strength and speed.The U.S. media coverage seemed to be the rule, not the exception. The Associated Press published a story that led with Michael Phelps tying for second in the mens 100-meter butterfly, while Katie Ledeckys record-setting win in the womens 800-meter freestyle was an afterthought to both the headline and the lead of the story, which covered both races.Gymnast Simone Biles pushed back on some of the more subtle sexist media coverage that used men as proxies to explain womens accomplishments.Im not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps, she said after winning gold in the womens all-around final. Im the first Simone Biles.These moments transcend the world of sports to show the world of gender equality. Secretary of State John Kerry sometimes uses sports metaphors in discussions where hes advancing gender equality. After the Olympics, that seems all the more appropriate.Sports offer a lens through which we can see the status of women and girls in society. Is a country literally keeping half its population on the bench? Does society hold back women and girls from reaching their full potential by diminishing their accomplishments or lashing out at their willingness to try? The 2016 Olympic Games offer some sobering answers to these questions.But perhaps what matters most isnt the Olympics ability to illustrate the state of sexist media or opportunity for women in sports. Perhaps what matters is what happens after the Olympics when the athletes are back home.Last week, the BBC aired a fascinating story about the post-Olympic homecoming of Sakshi Malik, the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal and one of only two Indians -- both women -- to win a medal in Rio.Whats remarkable is the sheer number of women who have turned out to greet Sakshi Malik, BBC journalist Sanjoy Majumder declared in a video documenting the event. Old women, middle-aged women, little girls as well.As he spoke, the camera panned to show dozens and dozens of women and girls watching as Malik, a young woman who broke stereotypes and overcame financial barriers to make it to Rio, is celebrated in an Indian state working to overcome barriers to eliminate female feticide and educate girls.The scene represents the true potential of the Olympic Games to achieve its lofty goal of promoting peace and prosperity. As more and more women compete -- and bring their communities and countries glory and pride while doing so -- the world will see exactly what women are capable of when theyre given the opportunity.Maybe in another 100 years the world will look back on the 2016 Olympics as another remarkable turning point, when Silva, Ledecky, Biles, Malik and thousands of other women who competed, returned home and changed history.Cathy Russell is the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Womens Issues. Buy Adidas NMD Australia . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Adidas NMD Australia . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. http://www.wholesalenmdaustralia.com/ .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Gloucestershire 62 for 3 trail Glamorgan 220 (Selman 101, Miles 4-44, Taylor 4-56) by 158 runsScorecard Glamorgan would have been in deep trouble had Australian born Nick Selman not scored 101, almost half the teams total, in an attacking innings.Selman, who last month carried his bat for an undefeated hundred against Northants, looked as if would emulate that performance until he was bowled the delivery after reaching his century. He will hope that this innings will not start a run of poor form- following his first century he suffered a run of four ducks.After an uncontested toss, Mark Wallace - in the absence of Jacques Rudolph, who had a sore neck - opened the innings with Selman, but Wallace was out in the seventh over, leg before to David Payne, which prompted a spectator to shout behind the arm that was a poor decision umpire.Selman had started with a flurry of boundaries, and although Will Bragg and David Lloyd were both out cheaply, Glamorgan had reached 130 for 3 at lunch, with Selman and Aneurin Donald in full flow.The fourth wicket pair had put on 65, before Donald, who was only four runs short of his 1,000 first-class runs for the season, top-edged an intended pull to mid-on. Kieran Carlson, playing his second championship game, was out with scoring, and after Selman was dismissed, Craig Meschede was also dismissed by Matt Taylor. Adidas NMD Australia Online. Graham Wagg, meanwhile, played a watchful innings on a pitch that was seamer friendly, and had to contend with some accurate bowling from the Gloucestershire seam quartet. Wagg and Timm Van Der Gugten added a useful 38 for the ninth wicket, enabling Glamorgan to gain a batting point, before they were both dismissed by Craig Miles who, with Taylor, took four wickets.Gloucestershire had to face 31 overs after tea, but soon lost Gareth Roderick who edged Van Der Gugtens fifth ball to second slip. The Glamorgan seamers also bowled a tight line, but it was a short delivery that undid Chris Dent, who tamely guided the ball to square leg.Will Tavare, who had laboured 67 balls for his 18, was the next to go when he was lbw to Michael Hogan, who was leading Glamorgan in Rudolphs absence. Hamish Marshall and George Hankin, who was the Player of the Tournament in the recent Under-19 series against Sri Lanka, guided Gloucestershire to the close at 62 for3, a deficit of 158. ' ' '