This article discusses the presence of women in the early days of sport in the city of Rio de Janeiro (until 1910). To this end, newspapers and magazines published in the city at the time were researched, as well as books of memoirs. The goal is to present an oversight of the involvement of women in different sports, at various historical moments, performing distinctive roles. Looking at the peculiarities of each of those occurrences, we can trace a profile of the tensions and confrontations women faced at the time. In conclusion, we noted that if the increase of the feminine presence met, in a way, masculine interests, it was also a result of social expansion and their demands for their rights, and it should also be seen as a conquest.
sport; women; gender