U.S. Olympic teams now carried by women in medal count in lasting Title IX impact

In the 50 years since Title IX passed, women went from having a fraction of the Olympic medal events of men to carrying Team USA, despite still having fewer medal opportunities.

The value of the U.S. women, and by extension the impact of Title IX, was clear on the last day of the Tokyo Games.

The U.S. began Aug. 8 trailing China by two gold medals in the standings. Finishing second would have been a significant defeat, given the U.S. topped the total- and gold-medal standings at every Summer Games since 1996, except when China took more golds when it hosted in 2008 in Beijing.

But the Americans had a closer: their women.

In a span of minutes on the final day, the U.S. women’s basketball team earned its seventh consecutive gold medal, as expected, and track cyclist Jennifer Valente won the omnium, which was unexpected. Then the women’s volleyball team capped it off with the program’s first gold medal.

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The final standings: U.S., 39 golds. China, 38 golds. (Two U.S. male boxers also had chances for gold on the last day and came away with silver medals.)

The U.S. finished the Olympics with 66 medals in women’s events, the most ever for any nation.

It won 41 medals in men’s events, the U.S. men’s fewest since the first modern Olympics in 1896, according to Olympedia.org. That stat is all the more startling given there were a record 339 medal events in Tokyo versus 43 medal events in 1896, when only men were allowed to compete.

When Title IX passed in 1972, there were no Olympic basketball or cycling events for women. There was no NCAA women’s volleyball. Title IX provided women equal opportunities in high school and college sports. It lay the foundation for Olympic