Male Boomers Loved Watching Women’s Sport at 2024 Olympics

Baby boomers were big fans of women’s sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics for some reason, according to viewing data from YouGov.

Men over the age of 45 were much more likely to have seen more of the women’s sport at the Olympics than the men’s, with 70 percent of respondents saying they’d watched more women’s events. Men over the age of 65 were even more likely to have favored women’s sport, with 73 percent of respondents saying they’d seen more women’s events than men’s over the course of the Games.

Men across all age groups were more likely to have watched men’s sport at the Olympics, with 62 percent favoring watching male athletes, making the older groups an outlier. Women were significantly more likely to watch female sports at all ages; only 19 percent said they watched more men’s sport than women’s.

The most popular sport for Americans watching the Olympics was swimming, with 28% of viewers saying it was the sport they’d enjoyed watching the most.

It was also the sport with one of the smallest gender divides in terms of viewership; 28 percent of men and 29 percent of women said it was their favorite.

The second most popular sport was artistic gymnastics, with 23 percent of U.S. viewers highlighting it as their favorite. Simone Biles, one of the most high-profile American Olympians, competed in this category, which helped boost viewing numbers for women’s gymnastics.

Artistic gymnastics was heavily favored by women, and was the favorite sport for 32% of female viewers.

The third most popular sport across the board was basketball, with 21 percent of Americans saying it was their favorite. Basketball was notably more popular among men than women; 28 percent of men said it was their favorite, while just 15 percent of women said the same.

Other popular sports included track and field, diving and beach volleyball, which were all favorites for more than 10 percent of viewers.

Age appeared to have a limited impact on the specific sport viewers enjoyed; swimming and artistic gymnastics remained most popular for watchers over the age of 65.

However, diving was just as popular as basketball for older groups, with 21 percent of over 65s saying each was their favourite.

Men’s Favorite Sports at the Olympics

Men’s top sports were basketball, swimming, track and field, soccer and artistic gymnastics, in that order.

Some 28 percent of men said basketball and swimming were their favorite events to watch, with track and field taking 26 percent, while 15 percent said soccer and 13 percent said artistic gymnastics.

Women’s Favorite Sports at the Olympics?

Women favored similar sports to men. Their favorites were artistic gymnastics, swimming, diving, track and field and rhythmic gymnastics, in that order.

In total, 32 percent of women favored artistic gymnastics, and 18 percent liked rhythmic gymnastics the most. Some 19 percent said diving and track and field were their favourites, and 29 percent said swimming.

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