PARIS – Not long ago, the organizers of the Olympic Games considered it too dangerous for women to participate in marathon running. This Sunday, in a significant departure from tradition, it will be women who close the Olympic athletics program with the iconic 42.195-kilometer race. The organizers of the Paris Olympics are taking this opportunity to highlight the historical significance of this moment, as it marks the first summer games with an equal number of male and female participants. Moreover, the marathon route follows that of the Women’s March to Versailles, a pivotal moment during the French Revolution when women gathered in a marketplace in Paris to protest against high bread prices in front of King Louis XVI.

Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the first Olympic marathon in 1984, is closely watching this historic moment. “All these years later, all these centuries later, women are again following routes that have changed the course of history, and in this case, certainly for the better,” she said in an interview.

Before Samuelson’s historic race, women were limited to participating in distances of 800 meters or less, until the 1500 meters was added in 1972. Arguments against women competing in longer distances included the belief that they could not handle the mental pressure of long races and risked becoming infertile. In 1966, Roberta Gibb hid behind a bush at the starting line of the Boston Marathon after being denied entry, and she subsequently ran the distance. It wasn’t until 1972 that women were officially allowed to participate in the Boston Marathon, and it took another 12 years before the Olympics followed suit.

Carey Pinkowski, director of the Chicago Marathon, noted that when he started working on the event in 1990, only 5% of participants were women. Today, women make up 50% of the participants in the Chicago Marathon.

The Olympic women’s marathon in 1984 took place on the first Sunday of the athletics program, rather than the last. The route began in Santa Monica and primarily followed highways before concluding at the LA Coliseum. Samuelson, then known as Joan Benoit, broke the world record but was not a favorite due to a knee operation. She completed the race in 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 52 seconds, making history as the first female Olympic marathon winner.

As the Olympics have featured athletes like Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Katie Ledecky, the spotlight will shift to women as the athletics program concludes. More eyes will be on this race, which marks the end of a historic day. “It’s a great opportunity for millions of people to see you. It’s on my mind. I will work extra hard to make these people happy,” said Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri, who is a favorite to win.

However, the marathon route through Paris is anything but an easy task. It features challenging climbs with slopes of up to 13.5% and is considered the toughest ever seen at the Olympics. “It is simply the hardest route ever seen at a major championship, and it makes the race more interesting and unpredictable,” said Jon Ridgeon, a former sprint Olympian and CEO of World Athletics.

For Sifan Hassan, who won bronze in the 10,000 meters, the marathon will be her third race in Paris. If she manages to navigate this demanding route and crosses the finish line, she will have covered over 62 kilometers in nine days, more than any other participant at the Paris Olympics. If she wins a medal, she will replicate her achievement from the Tokyo Olympics, where she won three medals in three distance events. “Endurance on Sunday, that’s no joke,” said Hassan. “Finishing a marathon is a kind of hell. It’s not easy.”