The 1923 Women's Olympiad (French: Jeux Athlétiques Féminins,[1] French: Jeux Olympiques Féminins and French: Monte Carlo Games[2]) was the fourth international event in women's sports, the tournament was held 4 to 7 April 1923 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The tournament was formally called "Les Jeux Athlétiques Féminins à Monté Carlo". The games were a runner-up to the 1921 Women's Olympiad and 1922 Women's Olympiad.
The multi-sport event was as previous years organised by Fédération des Sociétés Féminines Sportives de France (FSFSF) under chairwoman Alice Milliat and Camille Blanc, director of the "International Sporting Club de Monaco" as a response to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision not to include women's events in the 1924 Olympic Games.
The games were attended by participants from 8 nations: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The tournament was a huge promotion for women's sports.
| Team | Nation | Participants | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ? | ||
| 2 | ? | ||
| 3 | ? | ||
| 4 | ? | ||
| 5 |  Italy | ? | |
| 6 | ? | ||
| 7 | ? | ||
| 8 | ? |
The athletes competed in 11 events: running (60 metres, 250 metres, 800 metres, 4 x 75 metres relay, 4 x 175 metres relay and hurdling 65 metres), high jump, long jump, javelin, shot put and Athletics pentathlon. The tournament also held exhibition events in basketball, gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics.
The tournament was held at the "Tir aux Pigeons" in the gardens Les jardins du Casino of the Monte Carlo Casino in the ward of Monte Carlo. Among the spectators were Prince Louis II, Princess Charlotte and Prince Pierre.
Prior to the tournament a gymnastics event ("La Quatrième Fête Fédérale de Gymnastique et d'Éducation Physique Féminines"[13] in the ward of Fontvieille with about 1200 participants from 71 gymnastic clubs (this event is sometimes confused with the athletic event).
Almost all medals went to athletes from France and the United Kingdom, medalists[14] for each event:
| 60 metre | Nora Callebout | 7,9 sec | Ivy Lowman | ? | Georgette Gagneux | ? | |
| 250 metre | Nora Callebout | 41,0 sec | Marie Mejzlíková I | Monnet | |||
| 800 metre | Marcelle Neveu | 2.35,6 min | Mary Lines | Hilda Hatt | |||
| 4 x 75 m relay | Team England | Team France | Team Czechoslovakia | ||||
| 4 x 175 m relay | Team England | Team France | Team Belgium | ||||
| Hurdles 65 metre | Ivy Lowman | 11,3 sec | Hermance Maes | Thérèse Brulé | |||
| High jump | Ivy Lowman | 1,47 m | Elise van Truyen | 1,44 m | Sophie Eliott-Lynn | 1,40 m | |
| Long jump | Sylvia Stone | 4,85 m | Marie Mejzlíková I | 4,71 m | Elise van Truyen | 4,61 m | |
| Javelin, two-handed | Louise Groslimond | 44,94 m | Francesca Pianzola | 44,88 m | Sophie Eliott-Lynn | 43,56 m | |
| Shot put, two-handed 3,628 kg | Marie Mejzlíková I | 17,05 m | Florence Hurren | 16,60 m | Františka Vlachová | 16,11 m | |
| Pentathlon | Simone Chapoteau | Ivy Lowman | shared Sophie Eliott-Lynn Elise van Truyen | ||||
Sophie Eliott-Lynn later also competed at the 1926 Women's World Games in Gothenburg where she finished fourth in the javelin event.
Marie Janderová competed in the javelin event, her result of 25,50 metres was a world record, however she finished fifth in the totals with 42,11 metres.
World record holder in 800 metres Georgette Lenoir and world record holder in shot put Violette Morris also competed at the games but without gaining any medals.
The basketball tournament was won by Team France after a win in the final against Team England with 19-1.
A special commemorative medal was issued for the participants.
The tournament was a huge promotion for women's sports. However it was the last of three Women's Olympiads. The event continued as Women's World Games with the first event already being held in Paris in 1922.
Monaco
