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mahatmakanejeeves

(68,982 posts)
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 07:00 PM 3 hrs ago

Title IX responsible for so many women's Olympic medals for Team USA

Hat tip: Christine Brennan was on the PBS News Hour tonight.

Title IX responsible for so many women's Olympic medals for Team USA

Christine Brennan
USA TODAY
Updated Feb. 22, 2026, 5:09 p.m. ET

MILAN — If the headlines and captions look the same and seem redundant, it’s because they are. This happens every Olympic Games now, winter and summer, for the U.S. Olympic team: ... "Girl Power." ... "The Women’s Olympics." ... "Team Title IX."

As the 2026 Winter Olympics have come to a close, for the third consecutive Winter Games, U.S. women have won more gold medals and more medals overall than U.S. men. The final tally here in Milan: American women won six gold medals and 17 medals overall. The U.S. men? Four golds and 12 overall. Two other gold medals and four overall (the U.S. ended up with an historic 12 golds and 33 overall) were in mixed gender events.

This mirrors what is happening in the much larger Summer Olympics, in which U.S. women have won more golds and more medals than U.S. men for the past four consecutive Summer Games, going back to the 2012 London Olympics. In Paris a year and a half ago, U.S. women won 65% of the 40 gold medals won by Americans (26-13, with one won in a mixed gender event.) And they won 68 medals overall to 52 for the men, with six in mixed events.

"It’s always exciting to see the women of Team USA rise to the top of the podium,” U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. "In Milano Cortina, they’ve competed with dominant strength and confidence. We’re proud not only of how they perform, but how they represent Team USA off the field of play — especially as veterans mentor rookies and carry forward the values that define the United States Olympic Team at the 2026 Winter Olympics.”

The reason for all the U.S. women’s success? It’s Title IX, the law signed by President Richard Nixon in June 1972 that opened the floodgates for girls and women to play sports and created the mindset of opportunity and participation that dominates American youth, high school and college sports to this day.

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Title IX responsible for so many women's Olympic medals for Team USA (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves 3 hrs ago OP
My WV high school had no girl interscholastic sports. None biophile 2 hrs ago #1

biophile

(1,352 posts)
1. My WV high school had no girl interscholastic sports. None
Mon Feb 23, 2026, 07:09 PM
2 hrs ago

I could be a cheerleader or a majorette. Couldn’t twirl, so I did cheerleading. That way I got into some gymnastics.
To be fair, there were only three sports available to the boys - Football, basketball and track.

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