In Atlas Obscura’s Q&A series She Was There, we talk to female scholars who are writing long-forgotten women back into history. From soccer player Mia Hamm to gymnast Simone Biles to tennis champion Serena Williams, many female athletes are household names today. But for centuries, their predecessors were banned from participating in—or even watching—sports. In ancient Greece, women caught attending the original Olympic Games could face the death penalty. In the Victorian era, it was believed women who exercised would injure their reproductive organs, harming future offspring. In 1900, the…
