SYDNEY (Reuters) – Women are forecast to win three quarters of Italy’s medals in Beijing next February at a Winter Games with the smallest gender gap in history, according to Nielsen’s Gracenote analysis.
Women were only able to compete in two events at the first Winter Olympics in 1924, both in figure skating and one, the mixed pairs, where they needed to be partnered by a man.
The gender gap has been closing steadily over the last three decades and, with the addition of a second women’s event in the bobsled for 2022, 12 of the 15 disciplines in Beijing will offer equal medal opportunities for both sexes.
Nordic combined, which involves cross-country skiing and ski-jumping, is the only sport with no female involvement, although the International Ski Federation (FIS) have plans to break down that final barrier at the 2026 Games in Italy.
From an 81.3% gender gap at Chamonix in 1924, the opportunity for women to win medals will be only 5.5% lower than for men in Beijing.
Italy are forecast to win 12 medals in Beijing in Wednesday’s latest update of the Gracenote predictions with women claiming nine of them.
Women will also account for more than half the medals won by Sweden, the United States, hosts China and the Netherlands, according to the forecast.
The dearth of available competitive data on some athletes because of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led Gracenote to issue updates of their predicted medals table as the winter sports season has progressed.
Norway is still forecast to retain top spot with 21 golds, ahead of Germany (12) and the Russian Olympic Committee (11).
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Peter Rutherford)
