Sporting heroines of history

Multi Gold-winning Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson explores the role of women in sport through history. She looks at some of the milestones in sport for women and acknowledges several people who were pivotal in helping to make sure women were finally recognised – among them Alice Milliat, the French woman who organised that first international women’s sporting event in Monte Carlo in 1921. She reflects on the achievements of athletes like Dale Greig, the first woman to run a marathon in under 3.5 hours, Russian Olgo Korbut who helped to change the perception of women in gymnastics, tennis player Althea Gibson, the first African-American to win a Grand Slam and the footballers who battled a five-decade ban on women playing on official grounds in England.