Indeed, the first woman to win an Olympic medal dates back to the ancient Olympic Games when in 396 B.C. and again in 392 B.C, the Spartan princess Cynisca, sister of Spartan king Agesilaus II, won the four-horse chariot race.

And while it does, on one level, defy all the odds as women were not even allowed to compete in the Olympic events, it can be explained by the fact that it was the owners of the horses proclaimed winners of the event, and thus a female owner meant a female winner. When you consider that chariot racing was one of the most exciting and potentially fatal of events – and in particular for the winners the greatest honour – there must have been quite a stir when the loophole revealed a female winner…

Added to the equestrian rule where the owners were the winners the loophole is further aided by the fact that she was Spartan – as most women in the ancient Greek world were kept in seclusion and forbidden to learn any kind of skills in sports, riding or hunting. However, Spartan women by contrast were brought up from girlhood to excel at these things and to disdain household chores.