She Was The First American Woman To Ever Win An Olympic Event, And She Didn’t Even Know She Had Done It
This story was updated on April 28, 2023, to reflect Margaret Abbott’s position and presence within the Chicago Golf Club. She held a membership at the club in her own right and did not require a male escort.
I had no idea this was possible, but the first American woman to ever win an Olympic event didn’t even know she had done it.
Her name was Margaret Abbott, and she competed during a time when there weren’t many other female competitors. Her epic win was cast aside, but today, we realize just how monumental it was.
Margaret was born in India in 1878, as her father was a wealthy merchant there. When he died, her family moved back to the United States. When she was a teenager, they moved to Chicago, where she first started playing golf.
In those days, one of the few sports deemed acceptable for women was golf. Yet, women could not even join most golf clubs without a male escort.
Well, that was except for Margaret, who was actually a member of the Chicago Golf Club in her own right. Her membership began in 1897 and was what thrust she and her brother, Sprague, into the Chicago Golf Club community– helping them learn the beloved sport.
In fact, Margaret was coached by Charles MacDonald himself and HJ Wigham. And after a lot of practicing, she won some local tournaments.
Then, in 1899, when she was 21, Margaret moved with her mother to Paris so she could study art and music. She took art classes and continued to play golf.
The following year, in 1900, the second modern Olympic Games were held in France. It was a special year because the Olympics coincided with the Paris Exposition, a massive world’s fair. The scheduling of competitions for the events made distinguishing one from the other difficult.
So when Margaret and her mother showed up for the women’s golf tournament at the Compiègne Golf Club, they had no idea they had actually started competing in the Olympics.
The competition consisted of nine holes, and Margaret won first place! Without even knowing it, she had become the first American woman to win in the Olympics. Her mother came in seventh place, making them the first and only mother-daughter duo to compete in the same event at the Olympics.
Darren – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Because women were technically unable to “officially” be admitted into the Olympic games until later, Margaret and the press believed that she didn’t compete in the Olympics but in a tournament for the Paris Exposition instead.
Still unaware of her Olympic win, Margaret won one more Paris golf championship before she returned to America in 1902 and married her husband, Finley Peter Dunne.
They had four children, and she continued playing golf for her enjoyment. She died at 76 in June 1955 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Her story of being an Olympic champion went unknown until the 1980s when Professor Paula Welch from the University of Florida found old newspaper articles about Margaret and conducted research on her life.
She informed one of her children, Philip, about his mother’s success.
It’s so great to hear that Margaret has now received the recognition she deserved, although it’s a shame she didn’t get to relish in her historical milestone while she was still here.
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