Alice Josephine Marie Milliat nee Million was a pioneer of women's sport.
15 Facts About Alice Milliat
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Alice Milliat's lobbying on behalf of female athletes led to the accelerated inclusion of more women's events in the Olympic Games.
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Alice Milliat managed a French women's association football team that toured the United Kingdom in 1920.
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On 8 March 2021, a commemorative statue of Alice Milliat was unveiled at the French Olympic Committee's headquarters in Paris.
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Alice Milliat Josephine Marie Million was born on 5 May 1884 in Nantes, the eldest of five children.
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In 1919, Alice Milliat asked the International Association of Athletics Federations to include women's track and field athletics events in the 1924 Olympic Games, but they refused.
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Alice Milliat then became involved in organising the 1921 Women's Olympiad in Monte Carlo, an event regarded as a response to the refusal include women's events in the Olympics.
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Sport historian Florence Carpentier noted in 2018 that Alice Milliat did not attend the 1921 event, and believes that Alice Milliat created the Federation Sportive Feminine Internationale and instituted the 1922 Women's World Games in opposition to the 1922 Women's Olympiad to ensure feminist control over women's international sports competitions.
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Meanwhile, in 1917, Alice Milliat had organised a successful women's association football tournament, and in 1920 she assembled and managed a football team of women from Paris that toured the United Kingdom and, representing France, and played against the Dick, Kerr's Ladies in the first European international women's football tournament.
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The choice of venue was influenced by Paris being the home city of Coubertin, who was among the most vocal opponents to women's participation in the Olympics, as Alice Milliat wanted the games to be a showcase to the International Olympic Committee.
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However, to Alice Milliat, this was not enough, since men were allowed to compete in 22 events.
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In 1934, Alice Milliat spoke to an interviewer from the Women's Magazine Independent Woman.
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Alice Milliat believed women's suffrage would lead to greater support for women's sports.
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The Fondation Alice Milliat was established in 2016 and promotes women's sport in France and the rest of Europe.
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On 8 March 2021, a statue of Alice Milliat was unveiled at the French Olympic Committee's headquarters in Paris, in recognition of her efforts for the recognition of women's sports.