In keeping with the theme of my last Olympics post, I wanted to spend a little time highlighting one of the most influential women athletes I know about: Billie Jean King.
You might not have heard of her since she's 70 years old now, but if you're a girl who plays tennis (or any sport, really), you have her to thank! When she was 29, she won a famous "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match against her male opponent, Bobby Riggs. This was a huge moment for women's sports because people began to realize that women could compete on equal levels as men!
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| Billie Jean King beating her male opponent in 1973 http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/tramlines/star-threw-equal-sexes-match-pay-mafia-debts-104839567.html |
Billie Jean founded the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. In 2006, the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City (where the U.S. Open is held) was renamed the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. I had the opportunity to visit this tennis center in New York City a few years ago and watch some of the U.S. Open!
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| USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City http://www.nycgo.com/venues/usta-billie-jean-king-national-tennis-center |
Have fun watching the Olympics and keep on rooting for those ladies! It's amazing to think that 2014 is the first Olympics where there is an equal percentage of male events as female events.
-Lindsay
http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016060.html
http://www.olympic.org/women-sport-commission
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