IOC President Kirsty Coventry and IOC Hon. President Thomas Bach at the inauguration of the statues in their new home. [Source: Francs Jeux]
Golden Statue of Milliat Finds Permanent Home
by Philip Barker
The statue of sports activist Alice Milliat last seen at the Paris 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony has now been installed in the Rue de la Chappelle in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.
Milliat was one of ten inspirational women depicted during the parade of nations during the Ceremony as part of a sequence called “Sororité” (Sisterhood).
“Their contribution to the world, sometimes unrecognized, often attenuated or unjustly omitted, is now a matter of public record,” explained Ceremony Director Thomas Jolly.
The statue shows Milliat holding an oar decorated with the five Olympic rings.
Each statue stands almost four metres tall and is made from a fibreglass-reinforced polymer resin.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo had pledged that the statues would be placed on permanent display.
The installation ceremony was attended by International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry and Honorary IOC President Thomas Bach as they visited the city to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Paris Olympics.
Milliat had waged a campaign against the IOC grandees including Baron Pierre de Coubertin to try and persuade them to include more events for women in the Olympics.
In 1921 she organised a women’s athletics competition in Monte Carlo. In 1922 a “Women’s Olympiad” was staged at the Stade Pershing. This was much to the chagrin of Olympic officials who objected to the term “Olympiad.”
During the 1924 Paris Olympics, the only sports open to women were swimming, diving, fencing and tennis. Although the Games attracted nearly 3,000 competitors only 135 were women.
During the Paris 2024 Games, an actress played the role of Milliat to explain her role in increasing sporting opportunities for women.
In 1926, the International Amateur Athletic Federation finally agreed to a limited number of athletics events for women to be included at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.
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