March 15, 1910 The French Academy of Sports awarded pilot and athlete Marie Marvingt a gold medal for “All Sports”. Marvingt was an experienced balloonist and is often credited as being the first woman to fly a monoplane. She won dozens of prizes in mountain climbing, swimming, fencing, shooting, ski jumping, speed skating, luge, ballooning, and bobsledding but came under criticism for her achievements. In 1914 a French book set her as an example of unladylike behavior, claiming she “really tries to win.” Disguised as a man, she served on the front lines in WWI and devoted the rest of her long life to the promotion of air ambulances.
