Cross Country is definitely a sport many people dislike, only because people hate running, and cross country is all about running. Cross country became an official sport in this country in 1887. The national cross country association was founded, and its first championship race was in New York. Cross country was first introduced in the 3 summer Olympics 1912, 1920,1924. In 1920, at the Paris Olympics, the Finnish runner (Paavo Nurmi) won team and individual titles
As we all know, up until the 1900s, women had no rights whatsoever. Running was considered to be a very dangerous sport for women, and they were not allowed to run over 1,000 meters because it would affect their “childbearing” abilities. Even though women in the 1960s were not allowed to run more than a half-mile, change did come soon after a few women decided to break that rule.
In 1922, Alice Milliat was a champion for female athletes and forced the inclusion of women’s events in the Olympic Games. In 1928, a track was added, but women could only compete in the 100-meter. Track a group of different events, and cross country is only one or two events, and you are running on trails, not on the track. The marathon was not introduced until 1984 for women to participate in.
In 1967, a woman named Kathrine Switzer made history by becoming the first woman to ever run the Boston marathon with an official race number. Despite the efforts of the race directors to remove her from the course, she managed to stay on the course thanks to her boyfriend’s help and help from a few other male runners. In 1974, she won the New York City marathon, and she led an effort to include women in marathons in the Olympics.
Katherine isn’t the only woman running who is making history right now. Faith Kipyegon is making history right now. She is currently working to break 4 minutes in the mile. She holds the record for the women’s 1500 with a time of 3:48.68. She also holds the women’s 1 mile with a time of 4:06. No other woman has been able to come close to the 4-minute barrier.
Women have come a long way since this. They have more rights than they ever thought they would have. Women still have to protest for their rights. It’s so unfair to see how badly women were treated by men in the early years, yet women were always so kind to men and would cook and clean for them and care for them, even though they got nothing in return. So next time you think you are being rude to a girl, think about what all they went through just so they could run a marathon. I’m not saying boys didn’t go through hardships, too. Remember, you never know what someone is going through, so always choose kind words.
