In 1968, the 22-year-old daughter of a General Mills line worker from Pontiac, Michigan, traveled to Mexico City to represent the United States in the Nineteenth Olympic Games. Her name was Micki King and although she had never represented her high school or university in her sport – diving – she was the overwhelming gold-medal favorite. An injury during the final competition kept her off the medal podium in ’68, but she was vindicated four years later in Munich, when she became Olympic champion in the three-meter springboard. Since her moment atop the medal podium in West Germany, Micki has remained a leader in women’s sports and a loyal friend to the Women’s Sports Foundation, most recently providing guidance on our newest research, Women in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the days ahead of our release of the eye-opening deep look at female athletes’ participation in London, we sat down with Micki to learn about her Olympic experience, how her sport stacks up in gender equity and why female leaders in the Olympic movement are critical to the success of every athlete.
Read More