IOC approves more women athletes for 2008

By STEPHEN WILSON
SLAM Sports

TURIN, Italy - The number of women in the summer Olympics continues to grow.

The International Olympic Committee executive board approved new quotas Sunday for the 2008 Beijing Games, bringing the organization closer to reaching its goal of gender equity.

The board accepted fencing's request for 12 additional athletes; eight more (four men, four women) in modern pentathlon; four more (two men, two women) in taekwondo; 10 more (five men, five women) in triathlon; and 20 more in cycling for two new BMX events.

Taking into account earlier increases in women's soccer, field hockey and handball, there will be 128 more female athletes in Beijing than in Athens.

In Greece, 42 per cent of the 10,500 competitors were women.

"We are getting closer to the 50-50 ratio in Beijing," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.