History in the Making

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, women competitors will be represented on every participating country's delegation.  Earlier, Brunei and Qatar announced that they will send their first-ever female athletes to London.  And finally, the last holdout -- Saudia Arabia -- agreed to include two women as members of its Olympic team after growing pressure was brought to bear on the IOC to expel the Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee from the Olympic Games.  The breakthrough came as a surprise because longtime negotiations between the IOC and Saudi officials did not seem to be making progress.  Outgoing IOC President Jacques Rogge can claim credit for this milestone in Olympic history.  His successor, however, will have to contend with the issue of gender parity; on the fields of play, in the coaching and administrative ranks, and in the governance structures of the IOC, IFs, NOCs, and all manner of international sport.