Top 10 Female Olympians Who Outperformed the Men
#10: Nadia Comăneci
Gymnastics
In 1976, Nadia Comăneci achieved a gymnastics feat that many thought was impossible: she earned a perfect ten at the Olympics. Her uneven bars score was so unprecedented that the scoreboard famously read 1.00 because it wasn’t intended to display double digits. This made Comăneci the first ever gymnast to earn an Olympic ten, and the fourteen year old would go on to collect six more perfect scores at the Montreal games. Though men’s and women’s gymnastics aren’t directly comparable, it wasn’t until Moscow in 1980 that a male competitor would equal her impressive record.
#9: Marta Vieira da Silva
Football
When it comes to women’s football, Brazilian player Marta is an undisputed all star. From a young girl playing on boys’ teams to excelling in professional leagues around the world, her impact on the sport is unmatched. After playing in her first Olympics at just 18 years old, she would go on to become the first ever male or female footballer to score goals in five back to back Olympic Games. She’s even set World Cup scoring records that stand for both the men’s and women’s leagues, and her success is a testament to her incredible skill and team leadership.
#8: Yun Mi-jin
Archery
Besides the mixed team category, modern Olympic archery isn’t a coed sport. However, men’s and women’s scores are still comparable due to matching distances and regulations, with the main separation coming from differing bow weights between the sexes. Several female archers throughout history have thus come out on top. At the 2000 Sydney Games, South Korea’s Yun Mi-jin equaled her male teammate’s Olympic record-setting score in the 18 arrow match. Then, in Athens in 2004, she collected another Olympic record in the 36 arrow elimination, this time beating the men’s top score by a several point margin.
#7: Anky van Grunsven
Equestrian
Dressage was opened up to female competitors for the first time in 1952, and in 1972, Liselott Linsenhoff became the first woman to win an individual gold medal in the sport. Today, all Olympic equestrian events are mixed-gender, and athletes like Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven have experienced great success over the years. Though not without controversy, she is one of the sport’s most decorated females, competing in seven Olympic games and earning a total of nine medals. Even beyond the dressage world, Van Grunsven is tied for the second-highest total of medals won by any Dutch Olympian.
#6: Park Sung-hyun
Archery
Since 1904, when archery became one of the first few Olympic activities to offer a female league, women have become some of the sport’s most popular athletes. Today, the South Korean team is so dominant that they’ve taken home the women’s team gold at the last ten summer games in a row. Park Sung-hyun is an important part of that legacy, earning four medals and setting several archery records worldwide. In 2008, she, Yun Ok-hee and Joo Hyun-jung set the Olympic record for the 24 arrow team event, beating the men’s record with an impressive 231 points.
#5: Isabell Werth
Equestrian
Not only has Isabell Werth been a dominant force in the dressage world for decades, but she also boasts the most medals won by any German Olympian. From Barcelona in 1992 to Paris in 2024, her eight golds and six silvers make her the most successful Olympic equestrian of all time. Even with setbacks along the way, she is the only athlete to ever stand on the podium at a total of seven Summer Games. With years of consistent success under her belt, Werth is a prime example of female sporting excellence.
#4: Margaret Murdock
Shooting
From earning a spot on the men’s rifle team at Kansas State University to becoming a shooting instructor in the U.S. Army, Margaret Murdock spent years honing her craft. Then, in 1976, she became the first female to make the American Olympic shooting team. She made history in Montreal with her silver in the three-position competition, making her the first woman to win a medal in the sport. In fact, due to a discrepancy with the rules of tie breaking, her teammate had Murdock join him on the top step to celebrate their shared success.
#3: Zhang Shan
Skeet Shooting
Zhang Shan is another female athlete who found success in the male-dominated world of competitive shooting. Her mastery of the sport led her to represent her country at the 1992 Olympics where she put on a history-making display in the skeet shooting event. Equaling a world record at the games, she earned China a gold medal for her near perfect performance in the event final. While her victory was groundbreaking, it also led to a rule change that excluded women from skeet at the following Olympics. However, in 2000, she returned to the newly-created female league.
#2: Madge Syers
Figure Skating
While many sports have decidedly male origins, history shows that women have been ice skating for centuries. However, when a new competition known as figure skating gained popularity, the events were set up for men. In 1902, Madge Syers challenged that idea by entering the World Figure Skating Championships and triumphantly earning a silver medal. Due to a variety of concerns including skirt length, a separate ladies league was created leading up to the sport’s debut at the Olympics in 1908. Easily winning the event gold, Syers’ performance was so impressive that she was described as “in a class by herself.”
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Steffi Graf, Tennis
The Only Player to Ever Win Four Grand Slams and an Olympic Gold Medal in the Same Year
Charlotte Dujardin, Equestrian
The First Rider to Achieve Every Major Individual Dressage Victory in a Year
Julia Krajewski, Equestrian
At the Tokyo Olympics, She Became the First Woman to Win the Individual Eventing Gold
Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine Skiing
On Top of Her Olympic Medals, She Holds the Record for the Most World Cup Race Victories
Carissa Moore, Surfing
Made History in the Men’s Triple Crown & Became 1st Gold Medalist in Women’s Shortboard Surfing
#1: Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias
Multi-Sport
Best known by her childhood nickname inspired by Babe Ruth, Didrikson Zaharias is a sporting icon. An athletic Jane-of all-trades, she competed in basketball, track and field, baseball, golf, and was even known to pick up other sports as hobbies. Setting multiple world records in her Olympic debut, she is still the only athlete to ever medal in throwing, jumping, and running. On top of her success in women’s leagues, she became the first female to compete in PGA tournaments while also setting trailblazing new records. Not only did she redefine what a woman could accomplish at the time, but few have rivaled her inter-disciplinary excellence to this day.
Which record-setting female athlete do you think is the most impressive? Let us know in the comments below.
