"Female athletes still operate in a world of sport dominated by men"

Ewa Haldemann from Swiss Olympic will give the keynote speech on the "Women and elite sport" project at the winspire event on the evening of September 19. In the interview, she tells us, among other things, what is needed to promote top-level female sport even more.

With the "fastHER, smartHER, strongHER" campaign, Swiss Olympic wants to improve the conditions for women in elite sport. What specific measures and initiatives are being taken as part of this?
EwaHaldemann: The background to the campaign is the observation that female athletes are still predominantly active in a male-dominated sporting world. Our aim is therefore to do better justice to the performance development of women. Specific measures include awareness-raising and taboo-busting initiatives on women-specific topics such as the menstrual cycle or pregnancy in elite sport. We contribute specialist knowledge, close knowledge gaps and at the same time develop recommendations for practical action.

To what extent can such measures optimize the athletic performance of female athletes? What will be needed in the future to anchor these issues even more firmly in sports promotion?
It is important that the framework conditions for top-level female sport are further optimized. One example: We know that pregnancy can take place alongside a top-class sporting career. It is absolutely crucial that the conditions are created, including in the economic area, to enable a return to elite sport after pregnancy. In addition, structures must be developed to generate knowledge on women-specific topics and apply this in practice. We also support associations and clubs so that they can optimally promote their female athletes in elite sport. The sporting environment of female athletes - still more male coaches - should have knowledge in this area and speak openly about it.

Ewa Haldemann is a career consultant and project manager for "Women and elite sport" at Swiss Olympic.

What long-term effects do you expect both on the individual performance of female athletes and on the perception of women in sport?
Our Swiss medal winners at the Olympic Games are an impressive demonstration of how effective the measures in our project have already been. Top-class sport is now much more female and successful than it used to be. Taboo subjects have been tackled and women in top-class sport have been strengthened. For example, female athletes no longer train in the same way as men, but in a way that is tailored to women-specific factors. This creates courage and enables top performances. The fact that there were more women's medals at the last two Olympic Games shows that our work is bearing fruit and also how it is perceived - both from the outside and by the athletes themselves.

What can visitors to winspire look forward to in particular?
Every top female performance is courageous and is based on the fact that the focus is on female performance development. I assume that more men will visit winspire. It is important that they are also aware of these issues, as this is essential for the future-oriented promotion of top-class sport. The clubs in Winterthur must also take this into account in their structures and efforts. This exciting thematic debate is made possible at winspire, in particular through the House discussion.

Interview: Beat Müller, August 2024