As in many other fields, in sorts too, women were latecomers and considered as 'the other sex' – at least until the twenty-first century. When sport developed in its modern form towards the second half of the nineteenth century, women were (and to a certain degree still are) considered as to weak to participate in strenuous physical activities and were thus excluded from various sports, competitions and events.Yet, in many epochs and in many regions of the world, there were female 'rebels' who did not comply with the ideals, norms and rules that contributed to women's marginalization. Who were these women, what were their aims and motivations, which strategies did they apply and how did they fight and win their battles against the gender order of their time?