It’s been over half a century since the gender barrier broke at the Olympics opening ceremony.
On October 12, 1968, during the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Enriqueta Basilio, a Mexican hurdler and sprinter, became the first woman — and first Latine — to serve as the final torchbearer of the opening ceremony had the honor of lighting the Olympic flame.
Before Basilio, a dozen men ran the last leg of the torch relay from 1936 to 1968 in the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Born in Mexicali, Baja California, Basilio, who was known as Queta, got her start in track and field events as a high jumper but was moved to hurdling and sprinting by her coach after it was evident that her forte was speed.
During the 1968 Summer Olympics, Basilio, who was 20 years old, ran into the Estadio Olímpico Universitario holding the Olympic torch, carried from Greece by more than 2,775 torchbearers before her.
Dressed in an all-white outfit, Basilio ran around the track and climbed 90 steps to light the Olympic cauldron in front of approximately 100,000 attendees.
Basilio died in 2019 at the age of 71. According to the New York Times, Basilio said she was selected as the final torchbearer because Mexican men and women had “the same rights” and that Mexico wanted to show the world that they knew what equality looked like.
“The days we live in, it’s difficult to depend on a man,” Basilio said. “They must be iguales – the same.”
Later in life, Basilio became a member of the Mexican Olympic Committee and participated in the 2004 Olympic torch relay, which passed through Mexico City. She was honored posthumously by the International Astronomical Union when they named a small moon of an asteroid after her.
The 2024 Summer Olympics take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.