< Women are the stars (and the victims) of the Beijing Olympics

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

For women athletes, the Beijing Olympics have been the best of times and the worst of times. Record numbers of women are competing. Many of the biggest stories and biggest athletic triumphs have involved women. But the Russian figure skating scandal also highlights how vulnerable female athletes can be in an international sports culture still dominated by men. NPR's Brian Mann has this report.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: When Eileen Gu, the freestyle skier from California who competes for China, stepped to the microphone after winning two gold medals and silver, she was introduced this way.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now, let's welcome today's princess.

MANN: The Chinese media has dubbed Gu the Snow Princess. The 18 year old is a remarkable athlete, spinning and twisting through the air above the half-pipe. She's also the breakout star of these Olympics.

EILEEN GU: Huge honor to be able to be the first free skier to the podium in three events as a woman, and also makes me very hopeful about what the next generation will be able to accomplish.

MANN: This is the kind of story Olympic officials love to highlight, and women have made enormous gains from the first Winter Games a century ago, when only a handful of women competed. Now, IOC spokesman, Mark Adams, says gender balance is nearly equal.

MARK ADAMS: We have a record number 45.4% women competing.

MANN: Adams says that progress reflects a lot of work by international sports officials who've added a new women-only event, the mono-bobsled competition and more mixed events where men and women compete together. The IOC has also gradually shifted its approach to broadcasting the games. All the television images from Beijing are actually filmed by the IOC's own in-house operation, known as the Olympic Broadcasting Services. That footage is then distributed to paying networks like NBC in the U.S. The OBS has faced criticism in the past for sexualizing female athletes, but OBS head Yiannis Exarchos says they've gotten better at showing women in ways not tilted by gender.

YIANNIS EXARCHOS: It's not about who is beautiful or attractive, it's about portraying huge athletes, whether they are men or women.

MANN: But while participation and representation of women at the Olympics have improved, critics point out there's a dark side to how women are treated at the games. They have fewer events, which means fewer chances to medal. Women also typically earn less money. There are also far fewer women coaches and top executives. That lack of power was highlighted in Beijing by the case of Kamila Valieva the 15 year old Russian figure skater who found herself at the center of an international doping scandal. The head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, acknowledged this week that Valieva appeared incapable of making decisions about her own fate.

THOMAS BACH: You know, you could feel that this is an immense, immense mental stress, and that maybe, you know, she would have preferred just to leave the ice and leave this story behind.

MANN: Other women skaters reacted to Valieva's case by calling for more protections for young women and girls in their sport. Skier Eileen Gu also said this week she believes more progress is needed.

GU: Extreme sports, we all know, are heavily dominated by men and has not had the kind of representation and sporting equity that it should. So I think that as a young biracial woman, it is super important to be able to reach those milestones and to be able to push the boundaries. That's what paves the paths for the next generation of girls.

MANN: One footnote about gender balance at these games, while women have fewer events than men, the overwhelming majority of U.S. gold medals at these Winter Olympics have been won by American women competing alone or in mixed sports with male partners. Brian Mann, NPR News, Beijing.

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