The U.S. women have competed so well at theTokyo Summer Olympicsthat if they for some reason decided to form their own country, their medal haul would be among the highest in the world.
The female athletes on Team USA have collectively earned about 60 percent ofthe total 113 medals, including feats in fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, track and field, water polo, wrestling and more. (By contrast, countries like Australia, Italy and Japan have 46, 40 and 58 medals respectively, all less than the U.S. women.)
For more on the Tokyo Olympics and team USA’s women’s medal count and other top stories, listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
“I think it was awesome. I think the women showed up,“Allyson Felixtold PEOPLE on Saturday as she spoke with reportersafter winningher record-breaking 11th track and field medal.
“I think we’ve been showing up on the track [and] off the track in all of the ways,” Felix said. “So to me, I loved it. I love seeing it.”
The American women’s 4x400m relay.AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
The excitement of seeing the other women compete alongside her was its own kind of motivator, Felix said.
“Sitting back and watching each woman perform, it was inspiring — it was like, okay, who’s up next then? Kind of like a buzz,” she told PEOPLE. “So it was really, really cool.”
Both trends have continued — something athletes and experts toldUSA Todaywas due in large part to Title IX, which since 1972 has legally required women and girls have equal access and treatment to athletics in any school receiving federal funds.
Jamie Squire/Getty
One member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s board of directors toldUSA Todaythat “as Team USA celebrates its Olympic performances, one must acknowledge how almost 50 years ago, in an effort to elevate women in our society, Title IX empowered generations of women to compete, to lead, to win and to inspire.”
SwimmerKatie Ledecky, one of the stars of the U.S. team in Tokyo, said much the same.
“Title IX has had a huge impact on women participating in sports and the evidence of that is clear with the results of women at the Tokyo Olympics,” she toldUSA Today.
Erica Sullivan (left) and Katie Ledecky.Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
“For progress to continue, we’re going to have to continue to advocate for equality for female sports,” Ledecky told the newspaper, “[and] not be afraid to speak out, to pursue legal and political remedies and have a seat in corporate boardrooms, and not be timid about participating in those processes that will continue to bring change.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
