2012 Olympics

I got a text message from my friend Amani last night. Our conversation went like this:

We then got into a friendly disagreement about football. (Being friends with a Giants fan is really tough when you’re an Eagles fan.)

I think all of here at NWLC are pretty bummed that the Olympics are coming to a close – especially because Team USA’s women have been doing so well. We’re pretty giddy about the Title IX Olympics! Some of us have even been diligently avoiding Olympics results spoilers so we can watch in full suspense during primetime every night.

We’ve also been sharing a lot of animated GIFs with each other of some of our favorite Olympic moments. So I thought, why not give a slightly early close out to the Olympics on our blog with some of those GIFs?

Megan Rapinoe after the US Women’s Soccer team took gold, via @SBNationGif

Wow! Team U.S.A.'s athletes are amazing.

Did you see Alex Morgan's stunning game-winning goal in overtime? Or Gabby Douglas and the Fab Five making history? And who could forget Katie Ledecky — at only 15 years old — breaking the U.S. record and winning a gold medal in the 800 freestyle.

We are so proud of all of our athletes. London 2012 is the first time that the majority of Team U.S.A. is female, and there is no doubt that thanks is owed to four decades of Title IX. In the 1972 Summer Games, the same year Title IX was born, 21% of the American competitors were women. Forty years later the American delegation is a whopping 51% female.

The Olympic games are far from over. Show your support for what's been called the "Title IX Olympics." You can:

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This summer, women across the United States have been cheering for the fortieth anniversary of Title IX, the landmark law that opened the doors for women in sports and education. And now we’re joining women across the world to cheer women’s firsts at the 2012 London Olympics.

The London games mark the first Olympics where all 205 country delegations have sent a woman to the games – including Saudi Arabia, where women aren’t allowed to drive cars. Over 40 percent of the nearly 10,500 athletes competing are women. For the first time ever, Team USA is sending more women than men to the games.

And our biggest cheer of all, there is now no summer sport that is restricted to men. Boxing, the last of the summer games’ all male-sports and one of the most macho, has finally been opened to women!

Of course, there’s a caveat. As the New York Times reported, only 36 female boxers are competing in three weight classes at this summer’s games, compared to 250 male boxers in ten weight classes. Read more »

Many American Olympic athletes, despite being in incredible physical shape, face a tough time navigating the health care system and acquiring comprehensive coverage, just like us mere mortals.

Some Olympic athletes get their health care coverage through a Blue Cross Blue Shield program called the Elite Athletes Health Insurance (EAHI) plan. This plan covers the basics like preventive care and doctor’s visits, but of all things vital to elite athletes, it doesn’t cover sports injuries.

Given their high risk of injury and the EAHI’s high deductible, nearly all Olympic athletes have to buy a secondary plan that covers catastrophic injuries.  Not only do these athletes have to make sense of the different options and benefits, but out-of-pocket costs are based on their sport and level of competition. Athletes with less experience often face higher deductibles.

The EAHI doesn’t even cover all athletes. Each sport gets an allotted number of slots so those who don’t make the cut have to find coverage elsewhere. Athletes who don’t make the Olympic team usually won’t have access to EAHI and aren’t likely to have employer-based coverage.

American swimmer Dana Vollmer is exactly the type of athlete who could fall between the cracks in this broken system. At age 15, Vollmer was diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart problem known as Long QT syndrome. In order for her to keep competing, Dana’s mother had to bring an external defibrillator to Dana’s meets in case her heart stopped beating. Read more »

Me: Are you watching?

Kaitylan: Yes ma’am I am!

Kaitylan: OMG Gabby is SOO cool. B-)

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Kaitylan and I were texting last Thursday night. Last year, she was one of my students. I was teaching 4th grade in rural Louisiana.

Enter: Gabby Douglas

When Gabby Douglas won the all-around title at the Olympic trials in July I was elated. I got butterflies in my stomach, a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes. I know – that seems pretty ridiculous given the fact that it was only the trials and I don’t know this girl.

Except that I do. After teaching 80 students over the last two years in rural Louisiana, I know they have been waiting for Gabby. Waiting for America’s Sweetheart to look like them. Read more »

“We’ve reaped the fruits of Title IX,” says Theresa Edwards, the U.S. chef de mission for U.S. teams.

Title IX certainly turned out to be the seeds of some pretty incredible fruit. As I sit on my couch (usually eating ice-cream, pie, or something else I bet those athletes have never even seen) watching the 2012 games, I am overwhelmed by the sheer power of Team U.S.A.’s female athletes. I mean have you seen McKayla Maroney fly, literally fly, on her vault? Or Missy Franklin make swimming at 1,000,000 miles per hour – okay, maybe not exactly 1,000,000 – look easy?

London 2012 is the first time that the majority of Team U.S.A. is female, and there is no doubt that thanks is owed to Title IX. In the 1972 Summer Games, the same year Title IX was born, 21% of the American competitors were women. Forty years later the American delegation is a whopping 51% female. Read more »

On Sunday, Kimberly Rhode not only made a record-setting step for Olympics shooters, but a giant leap for the U.S. and womankind. Rhode took the gold medal in women’s skeet shooting and notched a near-perfect performance, hitting 99 out of 100 possible targets.

Rhode is now the first American with individual medals in five straight Olympics games. She surpassed three other U.S. athletes who have been individual medal-winners in four straight Summer Olympics. Rhode demonstrates to us once again that female athletes, given the opportunities they need to succeed, can own the competition and bring home the gold. Read more »

“I’m on top of the world right now. I still know I can go faster.”

That’s what Dana Vollmer said last night after winning a gold medal and setting a world record in the 100-meter butterfly.

In addition to being an Olympic champion, Vollmer is a big supporter of Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

In ESPN’s video, “Title IX Is Mine,” Vollmer says, “Talking with my mom about not having athletic teams even available to her made me realize how privileged I am at getting to have those. Looking at a younger generation, they might not even realize that this wasn’t always available, this isn’t how it’s always been.”

Vollmer isn’t the only Olympian championing Title IX. Last Saturday, Jessica Hardy won a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay. She explains, “As a child, I probably wouldn’t have even had the drive to compete if I couldn’t really go anywhere with it. So getting the chance to go to college, be recruited, swim beyond high school is my life’s dream.” Read more »

Happy Friday! Hope you’ve all remembered that today is also the opening day of the 2012 London Olympics. And just in case you haven’t heard it yet, 2012 marks the first time that there are more women on Team USA than men. Team USA totals 530 athletes, 269 of them women. To celebrate this achievement and to tip our hat to the influence Title IX has on this year’s team (in its 40th anniversary year, no less!), we created this graphic and posted it to our Facebook page! Please share it with your friends to spread the good news about Team USA and to support our team in London.

And speaking of the Olympics, it seems like there’s a bit of kerfuffle over what some of the uniforms female athletes will be wearing to compete in. While women were required to cover their legs when first allowed to compete in the 1900 games, these days we typically see things like female beach volleyball players competing in bikinis. Starting this year, female volleyball players are allowed to wear shorts and sleeved tops. Of course, this has sparked some debate and is winding up to be just another step in a long history of concern – often times misplaced concern – over women’s Olympic sporting attire. Read more »