Women in Sports Photography See Gradual Increase at 2026 Olympics

Summary

At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, 18 percent of the 691 accredited press photographers were women, marking a gradual increase in female representation in sports photography. This figure is up from 13 percent at the 2022 Beijing Games and 15 percent at the 2024 Paris Games. While this percentage lags behind the 44.7 percent of female athletes, notable instances, like a figure skating medal presentation with seven out of eight photographers being women, highlight the growing presence. The number of local photographers at the games was 33 percent female, and 25 percent of the entire press pool were women.

Key points

• 18% of accredited photographers at the 2026 Winter Olympics were female.
• This represents an increase from 13% at the 2022 Beijing Games.
• The percentage of female photographers remains lower than the percentage of female athletes.
• Local photographers at the games were 33% female.