If we look at the history of the individual Olympic sports of swimming, fencing, track, riding and shooting, we find that the earliest appearances for women, in the Games, were: Swimming - 100 meters in Stockholm (1912); Fencing - Foil in Paris (1924); Track - 100 meters in Amsterdam (1928); Equestrian - Dressage in Helsinki (1952); and, Shooting - Pistol in Los Angeles (1984).  Now, if we look further into those events that are equivalent to Modern Pentathlon disciplines and distances, they didn’t appear as individual women’s events until: Swimming - 400 meters in Antwerp (1920); Equestrian - Three Day Event in Tokyo (1964); Track - 1500 meters in Munich (1972); Shooting - Pistol in Los Angeles (1984); and, Fencing - Epee in Atlanta (1996).

 

Most of the above events sort of showed-up one year, without a lot of fanfare, but the final acceptance of women in Olympic equestrian took a rather bizarre turn-about.  They went from baring everyone except male military officers up to 1948, to having women compete head-to-head with men in 1952; the only Olympic sport where this is the case.  In Helsinki (1952) there were four women entered in the dressage event and it produced one of the most extraordinary dramas in Olympic history.

 

When the US Modern Pentathlon Team was touring Europe in 1956, we attended a reception where we met a number of people connected with European equestrian sports.  Among the guests was the 1952 Olympic Dressage Champion, Henri Saint Cyr, from Sweden.  It was a great thrill for all of us, but we learned as we talked that there was an even more compelling story behind the event.

 

Towards the end of WWII, Lis Hartel, a 23-year old woman from Denmark, was developing into one of her countries best riders.  In 1944 she became pregnant, but after some months contracted polio.  Within days, she was paralyzed, but determined to fight back.  By the time of the birth of a healthy daughter, she was only able to lift one arm and use her thigh muscles.  As soon as Lis recovered from this, she started to crawl and within eight months of her being diagnosed with polio she was using crutches.  She eventually got on a horse again and, although she remained paralyzed below the knees, concentrated on Dressage and how to perform without benefit of those muscles.

 

By 1950, Lis Hartel was competing successfully in regional championships, even though she always had to be helped on/off her horse.  Her performances were so outstanding that she was named to Denmark’s 1952 Helsinki Olympic Team.  At the Games, she won the dressage silver medal, and the Olympic Champion, Henri Saint Cyr, gallantly carried her to the victory podium.  One of guests at the 1956 reception, who had witnessed the award ceremony four summers earlier, choked as he tried to describe the emotionally charged scene.  I remember the occasion well and all of us hardened Pentathletes were stunned to silence; I’m sure that we looked like a bunch of deer caught in the headlights.  In my mind, Lis Hartel is near the top of any list of Olympic Heroes & Heroines.  Few Olympic moments, male or female, could ever match that one.

 

As a casual sequel to this story, Henri and Lis competed against one another many times over the next four years then repeated as gold and silver medal winners in the 1956 Melbourne Games.  By that time, however, the podium gallantry had become old hat.  (Note: The 1956 Olympic equestrian events were held in Stockholm, because of the strict Australian equine quarantine regulations.  This didn’t impact the MP event, since all of the horses were from Australia.  The Sydney 2000 equestrian events will be held in Australia.)