Breaking down barriers: Pioneers of women's sport

Alice Milliat was not prepared to accept the notion that competitive sports should be an exclusively male domain. Born in 1884, the Frenchwoman played field hockey, rowed and raced cars. In 1917, she became one of the founders of the French Women's Sports Federation (FSFSF) and the International Women's Sports Federation (FSFI), which organized the first The Women's Olympiad in 1921.

The Italian cyclist Alfonsina Strada registered for the 1924 Giro d'Italia under the name of Alfonsin Strada – tricking the organizers into believing she was a man. When they discovered the truth, Strada was still allowed to start, becoming the only ever woman to have started a men's race. She was disqualified after exceeding a time limit but despite being officially out, she still finished.

Italy's Maria Teresa de Filippis was the first of only two women to have ever driven in Formula One. Between 1958 and 1959, she competed in three Grands Prix. Her compatriot Lella Lombardi followed her lead, featuring in 12 races between 1974 and 1976, but no woman has since sat in the cockpit in elite motorsport.

Despite the best efforts of the furious race director (in jacket and hat) to rip away her start number, in 1967 Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to compete in and successfully finish the Boston Marathon. With women only permitted to compete up to 800 meters, she had to register secretly. A few years later, women were officially allowed to compete in long-distance events.

In the early 1970s, Billie Jean King fought for equal prize money for male and female tennis players. In protest, the 12-time Grand Slam winner, along with other female players, set up their own tournaments which later became the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). In 1973, their efforts paid off as the US Open awarded equal prize money for the first time.

Manon Rheaume made history in 1992 by becoming the first woman to try out for a team in the National Hockey League. She played one period of a preseason game for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues. Later that same year she became the first woman to play in a regular season professional game, when she took the ice for the Atlanta Knights against the Salt Lake Golden Eagles.

In 1993, Switzerland's Nicole Petignat became the first woman to referee a men's Champions League football match - a UEFA Cup qualifier between AIK of Sweden and Fylkir of Iceland. She also refereed in the Swiss league as well as women's World Cup and European Championship finals. Despite her achievements, female referees remain a rarity. Germany's Bibiana Steinhaus was a prominent exception.

Until the early 1990s, women were not permitted to take part in ski jumping, but Eva Ganster became the first female "pre-jumper" in 1994. In 1997, the Austrian became the first woman to jump from a ski flying hill, as the women's sport continued to develop. The first World Cup took place in 2011, the first Olympic event in 2014. Ganster's wish is for there to be a Four Hills Tournament one day.

In her more than two decades with the Canadian women's team, Hayley Wickenheiser won 4 Olympic gold medals and 7 Women's World Championships. In 2003 she became the first woman to score a goal in a men's semi-professional league, doing so for HC Salamat (pictured) of the Finnish third division. In July, 2022 she was named Assistant GM, Player Development by the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.

German football coach Monika Staab is a true pioneer. For years Staab has been traveling the world organizing training programs for women and girls. Staab is of the view that "positive feedback in sports boosts self-confidence. You need this to go through life."

On August 4, 2014, Corinne Diacre became the first woman to coach a game in the top two tiers of a European men's league, when second-division Clermont Foot lost 2-1 at Brest. She spent three years at Clermont before taking over as manager of the French women's national team in 2017. Diacre remains the rare exception in men's football, and even now, many women's teams are coached by men.

On December 17, 2019 Fallon Sherrock made history by beating Ted Evetts in the first round of the 2020 World Championship at Alexandra Palace in London. This made her the first woman to beat a male opponent at the PDC World Championship. To prove it was no fluke, she went on to beat Mensur Suljovic in the second round before losing to Chris Dobey in the third.

Sarah Thomas became the first woman to be part of the officiating team at the Super Bowl in February 2021. In making her way up the ladder, she's had to overcome several prejudices but says she's now accepted. "Colleagues, coaches and players now simply see me as an official. That's how I want it to be," she said. "I have never allowed my gender to be an excuse or a pretext for people."

On April 10, 2021, Rachael Blackmore broke down one of the biggest gender barriers in sports by becoming the first female jockey to win England's grueling Grand National. Blackmore, a 31-year-old Irishwoman, rode Minella Times to victory at Aintree in the 173rd edition of the steeplechase run. "I don't feel male or female right now. I don't even feel human," she said. "This is just unbelievable."

In Qatar on December 1, 2022, Stephanie Frappart made history by refereeing the group-stage match between Costa Rica and Germany, making her the first woman to referee a game at a men's World Cup. The Frenchwoman had previously refereed men's matches in the UEFA Nations League, Champions League, and European and World Cup qualifiers.