The chart illustrates the number of athletes attending the Olympics by gender from 1924 to 2012, while the graph portrays the total number of participants in this period. Overall, the number of female and male participants entering the Olympics increased, which led to a surge in the total.
Between 1924 and 1984, the number of male players predominated over that of female ones. Starting at 3,000 in 1924, the number of male participants went up modestly and reached 5,100 in 1984. In contrast, the figure for females climbed slightly from 100 to 1,500. The 2012 Olympics witnessed a surge of female competitors, narrowing the gap between them and their counterparts. Female athletes tripled from 1,500 to 4,500, whereas male athletes continued to rise by 1,000.
The total number of athletes rose consistently. From 1924 to 1984, the figure climbed gradually, from 3,000 to 6,300. In contrast, in the last Olympics Games, it soared 6,300 to over 10,000 participants as result of a higher level of female involvement.