From Title IX to Milano Cortina: Why American Women’s Olympic Dominance Is No Accident

The roar inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena was deafening as Alysa Liu landed her final jump—yes, I’m a complete fangirl. Moments later, she became the first American woman to win Olympic figure skating gold in 24 years. Hours earlier, Team USA’s women’s hockey team had dethroned Canada in a dramatic overtime thriller to claim their own gold medal. These weren’t isolated triumphs—they were the continuation of a legacy built on a foundation laid 54 years ago.

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics showcased American women at their finest. From Liu’s stunning comeback story to Elana Meyers Taylor—a 41-year-old mother of two sons with special needs—becoming the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history with her monobob gold, from the women’s curling team’s semifinal berth to Elizabeth Lemley and Jaelin Kauf’s gold-silver sweep in moguls, American women dominated across disciplines. Team USA finished with 12 gold medals and 33 total medals, with women contributing most significantly to that historic haul.

But this success didn’t happen by accident. It’s the direct result of Title IX—the 37-word clause that changed everything, exactly as its architects intended.

The Revolution by Design

When President Nixon signed the Education Amendments Act in 1972, advocates knew exactly what they wanted to achieve. Title IX wasn’t an accident or an experiment—it was a deliberate strike against systemic discrimination. The law stated simply: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

The women who fought for Title IX—pioneers like Billie Jean King who testified before Congress, activists like Bernice Sandler who documented discrimination across universities, Representative Edith Green who held seven days of congressional hearings—they envisioned exactly this future. They wanted girls to have the same opportunities as boys. They wanted women athletes on Olympic podiums. They wanted equality.

The numbers from 1972 tell a stark story: just over 300,000 women and girls played high school and college sports combined. Female athletes received 2% of college athletic budgets. Athletic scholarships for women were virtually nonexistent. Only 1 in 27 girls played sports.

Compare that to today. More than 3 million girls participate in high school sports. Over 200,000 women compete in intercollegiate athletics—six times the 1972 number. Now, 1 in 5 girls plays sports. At the college level, female participation has grown by 614%.

This transformation created the pipeline that produced the athletes we watched excel in Milano Cortina.

The Pipeline to Excellence

Title IX didn’t just create opportunities—it built an entire ecosystem. When Lisa Kaplowitz was a shy 17-year-old gymnast, she became part of the landmark Cohen v. Brown University case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. She recalls holding up men’s boxer briefs in federal court—standard issue for both male and female athletes at the time—testimony that led to sports bras becoming standard equipment for women’s teams.

These seemingly small victories mattered. They meant that by the time young athletes like Alysa Liu first laced up skates, or Elana Meyers Taylor first tried bobsledding, the infrastructure was in place. Quality coaching. Proper equipment. Strength and conditioning programs. Athletic trainers. Scholarships that made elite training possible.

The women who stood on podiums in Milano Cortina were the beneficiaries of decades of advocacy, lawsuits, and incremental progress. They had access to training facilities their mothers never did. They grew up in a culture where female athleticism was celebrated, not questioned.

The Multiplier Effect

The impact extends far beyond medals. Research from the Women’s Sports Foundation found that 94% of women in C-suite positions played sports growing up, and more than 52% played at the collegiate level. Title IX didn’t just create athletes—it created leaders.

Consider the women’s hockey team that defeated Canada. Their gold medal came from not just skill, but from the confidence, resilience, and teamwork that sports develop. These are the same qualities that will serve them in boardrooms, laboratories, operating rooms, and courtrooms long after their playing days end.

Or consider Elana Meyers Taylor. After clinching her first Olympic gold at age 41, the first person she embraced wasn’t a coach or official—it was Macy, her nanny who helps care for her two sons, both of whom are deaf and one of whom has Down syndrome. “It took so many people to be here,” Taylor told the press. “My husband. My kids. My nanny Macy. My nannies along the way. My parents. Everybody.” Her acknowledgment sparked a vital conversation about how success really happens—not in isolation but supported by an entire ecosystem of care.

The health benefits are measurable too. Research from the Sister Study found that girls who participated in 7+ hours per week of sports and exercise during ages 5-19 had a 25% reduced risk of breast cancer compared to those who participated less than 1 hour per week. Multiple studies have documented that physical activity during adolescence is associated with lower breast tissue density and reduced oxidative stress markers—both factors linked to breast cancer risk. A 2010 study found that sports participation helped increase employment and education levels among American women. The connections are clear: when girls play sports, they build not just athletic prowess, but foundations for healthier, more successful lives.

The Work Isn’t Done

Yet even as we celebrate Milano Cortina’s triumphs, troubling gaps remain. Girls at schools where people of color are in the majority have access to only 67% of the athletic opportunities that boys do—compared to 82% at predominantly white schools. Only 4% of collegiate athletic directors are Black, Indigenous, or other women of color.

Female athletes still compete with fewer teams, fewer scholarships, and smaller budgets than their male counterparts. Most estimates suggest 80-90% of educational institutions remain out of compliance with Title IX in athletics.

And now, at this crucial moment, we’re seeing efforts to roll back these hard-won gains under various guises—from cutting women’s programs due to budget pressures to legislative battles that threaten to undermine Title IX’s protections.

This Is Our Moment

The women who triumphed in Milano Cortina didn’t win their medals alone. They stood on the shoulders of athletes like Billie Jean King, who testified before Congress on behalf of Title IX. They benefited from the courage of students who staged sit-ins demanding equal treatment. They succeeded because of every parent who coached a girls’ team, every administrator who fought for equal funding, every advocate who refused to accept “no.”

Now it’s our turn to be those shoulders for the next generation.

We must push for full Title IX compliance at every institution. We need to close the opportunity gap for girls of color. We should demand equal media coverage and sponsorship for women’s sports. We must support women coaches and administrators rising through the ranks. And we need to extend this commitment beyond sports into every facet of work and life.

Beyond the Playing Field: The Case for Regulated Equality in Healthcare and Research

The Title IX model offers a blueprint for addressing systemic inequality that extends far beyond athletics. Just as Title IX mandated equal opportunity in education and sports, we need similar regulatory frameworks to ensure equity in healthcare and medical research.

For decades, women were excluded from clinical trials and medical research—with devastating consequences. Heart disease presents differently in women than men, yet diagnostic criteria were built on male-only studies. Drug dosages were calibrated for male bodies. Pain in women was more likely to be dismissed or attributed to psychological causes. The NIH didn’t mandate inclusion of women in clinical research until 1993—two decades after Title IX.

Even today, women remain underrepresented in clinical trials, particularly in cardiology, and research on conditions that primarily affect women receives disproportionately less funding. Women’s health issues—from endometriosis to maternal mortality, from menopause to autoimmune diseases—have been chronically understudied and underfunded.

We need a “Title IX for Healthcare”—regulation that mandates:

• Equal representation in clinical trials and medical research

• Funding equity for research on conditions affecting women

• Sex-disaggregated data analysis to understand how treatments affect women differently

• Training for healthcare providers on gender differences in disease presentation and treatment

• Accountability mechanisms with real consequences for institutions that fail to meet standards

Just as Title IX transformed athletics by making discrimination illegal and measuring compliance, healthcare regulation could transform medical outcomes for women. The connection between sports and leadership proves the point: when we invest in women’s potential and remove systemic barriers, everyone benefits. When we apply the same principle to healthcare, we save lives.

The skills learned from implementing Title IX—measuring participation gaps, setting compliance standards, creating enforcement mechanisms—are directly applicable to healthcare reform. We know how to do this work. We’ve seen it succeed. The question is whether we have the political will to extend these protections.

The connection between athletic opportunity and professional success isn’t coincidental—it’s causal. When we invest in girls’ and women’s sports, we’re investing in the next generation of leaders, innovators, and changemakers. And when we apply the same regulatory rigor to healthcare and medical research, we invest in women’s health and longevity.

Keep the Foot on the Pedal

Milano Cortina 2026 proved what’s possible when women have genuine opportunity. Alysa Liu’s comeback. The hockey team’s overtime drama. Elana Meyers Taylor making history at 41. These weren’t flukes. They were the inevitable result of a system that—however imperfectly—finally began investing in female potential.

But history shows us that progress isn’t linear. Rights secured can be lost. Programs built over decades can be cut in an instant. The infrastructure that produced Olympic champions requires constant vigilance and advocacy to maintain.

We cannot be complacent. Every girl deserves the chance to discover her strength on a playing field, in a pool, on a court, or on ice. Every young woman deserves access to coaches who believe in her, facilities that match her male peers, and opportunities to compete at the highest levels.

The medals won in Milano Cortina weren’t just metal and ribbon—they were proof of concept. They showed the world what American women can achieve when given a fair shot. They demonstrated the return on investment from Title IX.

Now we owe it to the next generation to continue the job. To close the remaining gaps. To extend opportunities to every girl, regardless of race or income. To support women’s sports not just during Olympic years, but every day. To apply the lessons of Title IX—that talent deserves opportunity, that discrimination is unacceptable, that investing in women pays dividends—to every workplace and every sector.

The fire lit in 1972 produced the flames we saw burning bright in Milano Cortina. It’s our responsibility to keep those flames alive and spread them further.

The time to act is now. Keep the foot on the pedal. Because somewhere out there, a young girl is watching those Olympic highlights, imagining herself on that podium. Let’s make sure she has the same opportunities—or better—than the champions she’s watching.

That’s the promise of Title IX. That’s the path forward. And that’s how we honor the legacy of Milano Cortina 2026.

The women who fought for Title IX—pioneers like Billie Jean King who testified before Congress, activists like Bernice Sandler who documented discrimination across universities, Representative Edith Green who held seven days of congressional hearings—they envisioned exactly this future. They wanted girls to have the same opportunities as boys. They wanted women athletes on Olympic podiums. They wanted equality. These Olympic games bared the fruit of their work, and many others.