Story: Gender and sport

Women boxers, 2012

Women boxers, 2012

Historically, women were barred from certain sports. In New Zealand, women boxers only emerged in the 1990s and their participation was still controversial in the early 2000s. Women boxers competed at the Olympics for the first time in London in 2012. Alexis Pritchard (in red, pictured during her bout against Russian Sofya Ochigava) and Siona Fernandez were New Zealand's boxing representatives in London – no men were selected. In the lead-up to the games, Pritchard was outspoken about the right of women to compete in any sport.

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New Zealand Herald
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Photograph by Mark Mitchell

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How to cite this page:

Sally Shaw, 'Gender and sport - Gender equality and sport', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/40403/women-boxers-2012 (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Sally Shaw, published 5 Sep 2013, updated 1 Jun 2016