“Free to Run” Screening and Discussion on the Award-Winning Documentary hosted by the Swiss Embassy in The Hague and the International Gender Cham

Her Excellency Ambassador and International Gender Champion (IGC) Corinne Cicéron Bühler welcomed her guests at the screening of the documentary by highlighting the evolution of running as a sport exclusively dominated by male elites in the 1960s to being a contemporary populist sport. Referring to the documentary, she traced this evolution by exploring the ways liberation movements extended to the world of running. Central to the documentary was the history of female participation in the sport, as women were originally excluded from partaking in most major running events. The film follows the work of Kathrine Switzer, a female running athlete who illegally participated in the Boston Marathon in 1967. This act of defiance, sparking significant media publicity, marked the beginning of women’s liberation in the sport of running. “Free to Run” documented Switzer’s work as she continued to advocate for full female inclusion in running spaces.

The film screening was followed by a discussion moderated by the Ambassador with the director of the documentary, Pierre Morath, and Swiss athlete, Ajla del Ponte. The discussion provided insight into the production of the documentary as well as the experiences of being a female running athlete in the present day.