The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris breathed new life into the Games. previous Olympic Games in Tokyo were marked by the pandemic; empty stands and isolated athletes took away much of the excitement that characterizes competition. This summer, arenas erupted with cheers, audience numbers increased, discussions on social media were sparked and the joy of athletes returned. Another important feature of these Olympic Games was the constant display of a rapidly growing slogan: “Everyone watches women’s sports.”

The statement went viral after a company owned by an athlete, Togetherxrprinted T-shirts with the slogan to support the growing hype around women’s sport. What was intended as a dig at anonymous internet trolls who live to mock women’s sport has now become a reality. Ratings for women’s sport are higher than ever, female athletes influence millions and respect has largely replaced ridicule. The Paris Games were the perfect showcase for this progress.

This Olympic cycle marked the first Time half of allAthletes were women, including well-known names Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles And Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. They dominated not only in numbers, but also in their Olympic records and medals and brought 67 of 126 Team USA medals.

This success and energy was felt by viewers worldwide, who increased the ratings by over 82 percent since the Tokyo Olympics. In addition to the records set in women’s sports in general, ratings in certain sports such as women’s football have increased dramatically. The Olympic gold medal match in women’s football reached an average 9 million viewersthe most of any soccer game in Olympic history. Other events such as the women’s team gymnastics final achieved impressive numbers, surpassing all games in the 2024 NBA Finals and almost 13 million views.

I often hear that women’s sport doesn’t deserve major investment because nobody watches it or it doesn’t generate enough revenue. Now we have data that proves the exact opposite.

This is not just about increasing the number of medals or getting more clicks, but rather it is a huge game changer: with each performance comes the opportunity to receive the higher investment, salaries and coverage that female athletes have fought for for decades.

The new wave of WNBA players also deserves much recognition, such as Caitlin Clark And Angel Reesewho have transferred their hype from the NCAA game to the league, and greatly increased Audience numbers and audience numbers. It is the growth that we saw last year that has made Paris a success.

But the Olympic Games were not only proof of progress, they also showed that there is still much room for more.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif experienced no positive effects from greater coverage. quick defeat from her Italian opponent Angela Carini, This moment escalated into a protest against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports, despite there being no evidence that Khelif is a transgender woman.