Olympic Swimmer Abbey Weitzeil Weighs in on Gender Equality in Sports

The three-time Olympian has high praise for the female athletes who are garnering newfound attention.

Abbey Weitzeil / Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

For months now, there has been growing media attention on the WNBA. More spectators are watching the draft, tuning into games and scrolling through the latest news. Tunnel fashion has taken on a whole new meaning—and the league’s stars (rookie and veteran alike) are at the forefront of the movement.

But, though the WNBA is receiving the greatest portion of the newfound media attention right now, that doesn’t mean the newfound appreciation hasn’t spread to other women’s sports, as well. In fact, if you ask Paris games swimmer Abbey Weitzeil—the winner of a silver and bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics—it most certainly has.

For the 27-year-old, the Olympics aren’t unchartered territory. She made her debut in the pool at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games, where she won a gold and a silver medal, and also participated in the 2020 games in Tokyo, where she took home a silver and bronze medal. But this year certainly felt different than her others, and it all started with the Olympic trials.

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When asked by Refinery29 if she felt the effects of gender equality in sports, Weitzeil was quick to point out the growth that women’s swimming has experienced of late. “Even in swimming, we’re growing our sport,” she said. “We had the U.S. Trials in a football stadium,” a much bigger venue to accommodate a bigger crowd than normal, she added.

And it all comes down to the athletes’ efforts. Through continued dominance on courts, in pools and on fields, women are slowly garnering greater coverage and more spectators. “It’s amazing what ladies have been doing and grabbing people’s attention,” Weitzeil said.