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Women of Wide World: 40 years of promoting the cause
ABC Sports Online
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While Billie Jean King's victory over Bobby Riggs in 1973's "Battle of the Sexes" often is credited with gaining respect for female athletes, viewers of ABC's Wide World of Sports for the past 40 years have known how talented these women are.
|  | | Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" on Wide World in 1973. |
In fact, almost every significant accomplishment by a woman was portrayed on Wide World.
The biggest star of all may have been Nadia Comaneci, who vaulted onto the scene as a bright 13-year-old in 1975. Nadia transformed the sport when she scored the first perfect 10 in an international competition at the '76 Olympics.
But Nadia was far from the only gymnast who captured ABC's cameras. Preceding Nadia's dominance was Olga Korbut of the Soviet Union, who helped spark a revolution in gymnastics throughout the world.
And after Nadia's coach, Bela Karolyi, moved to the United States, he helped nurture a group of American youngsters who became some of the world's best. In 1984, Karolyi's protégé became America's sweetheart when Mary Lou Retton won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics.
Seven years later, Kim Zmeskal became the first American woman to win the All-Around gold at the World Championships.
On the ice, there was no woman who was more graceful than Peggy Fleming. Following in Peggy's footsteps now is Michelle Kwan, who continues to dominate the figure skating world.
However, the heroics of the female athletes are not limited to gymnastics and figure skating. On the ice, there was no one faster than Bonnie Blair, who won gold after gold and became infamous for her personal cheering section known as the "Blair Bunch."
Many women were told they could not succeed or were held back by prejudice. Julie Krone succeeded in a male-dominated sport and continually won over her peers. Her crowning achievement came in 1993 when she won the Belmont Stakes.
Wilma Rudolph was never told she couldn't do anything, but that was obvious when "The Black Pearl" started running after a disease-laden childhood. By the time she stopped running, there was none faster than Wilma.
And there was no one more flamboyant than Florence Griffth-Joyner, with her one-legged leotards and her magnificent fingernails, not to mention her blazing speed.
While FloJo captivated audiences with her outfits and talent, Brandi Chastain riveted a nation in a split second.
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