( CNN ) -- The 2012 London Olympic Games fostered a generation of hope . I witnessed women participating for the very first time , representing every nation . Congratulations to 800 meter runner Sara Attar and judoka Wokdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani . Shahrkhani represented Saudi Arabia in judo and was among a number of other pioneer women who were part of the very first Olympics in which every country sending a team to London included at least one female athlete . Read more : Arab sportswomen finally in the picture . Their participation and that of athletes from Libya , Iraq , Jordan , Oman , Yemen , Qatar and other nations exemplifies how far we 've come , on a global level . The celebration of 40 years of title IX -- legislation that guaranteed equal opportunities in women 's college athletics -- what a year to celebrate ! The performances of USA women 's basketball ( five consecutive gold medals ) , USA women 's soccer ( bouncing back from the World Cup loss to capture the gold against Japan ) , Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor , after motherhood showed they are still the `` Queens of the Beach '' with an historic three-peat , and let 's not forget double-gold for the Williams family in tennis and the stunning performance of Tianna Madison , Allyson Felix , Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter breaking a 27-year-old world record in the 4x100m relay , and Jamaican Frazier-Price winning back-to-back gold in the women 's 100 meters and Ethiopian Tiunesh Dibaba making history in the women 's 10,000 meters . Sanya Richards-Ross ( 400m ) , Felix ( 200m ) , Australia 's Sally Pearson 100m hurdles , Brittany Reese ( long jump ) and Jenn Suhr ( pole vault ) , as well as teenagers like Missy Franklin ( swimming ) , Gabby Douglas ( gymnastics ) , Claressa Shields ( boxing ) , all claimed their very first individual gold medals . Jessica Ennis of Great Britain , the face of the games , lived up to the pressure and became an Olympic champion by winning the most demanding event ( in my opinion ) for a female athlete ; the hepthalon . Opinion : Why we need Gabby . Dawn Harper , Jeter , Dee Dee Trotter , Brigetta Barrett , LaShinda Demus , Veronica Campbell , Lia Neal ( second African American in swimming to bring home a medal ) and the U.S. indoor volleyball team also all came away with medals . To each of those remarkable athletes , and all of the women ( and men ) from around the world who came to London and put forth their very best efforts I extend a heartfelt congratulations . It was an honor for me to watch you , providing a wonderful trip down memory lane . As exciting as these games were for women , it saddened me to know that women 's softball was n't a part of these Olympic Games and we still must not forget our female athletes come from grass roots programs and lack of funding is always an issue . We live in a world where sports have the potential to bridge the gap between racism , sexism and discrimination . The 2012 Olympic Games was a great start but hopefully what these games taught us is that if women are given an opportunity on an equal playing field the possibilities for women are endless . Read more : Was London 2012 the women 's Olympics ? The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jackie Joyner-Kersee .
Jackie Joyner-Kersee : The Games fostered a generation of hope . Participation of female athletes from around the world showed how far we 've come , she says . But she says it was saddening that women 's softball were n't a part of these Olympics games . Joyner-Kersee : We must not forget that lack of funding can be an issue for female athletes .