Female Olympians have been leading the charge in Rio, with women claiming Canada's first nine medals at a Summer Games that has been filled with huge moments for females from many different countries.

On Friday, Rosie MacLennan won Canada's second gold medal by placing first in women's trampoline. She previously won the same medal at the 2012 London Games.

Then there's Penny Oleksiak. The 16-year-old has been Canada's strongest athlete so far and one of the biggest stars of the Games. She won Canada's first gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle on Thursday, adding to her Rio haul that includes a silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly and two bronze medals with her teammates in the 4x100-metre freestyle and the 4x200-metre freestyle.

Oleksiak's brother Jamie, who plays for the NHL's Dallas Stars, congratulated her on Twitter after her silver medal win. "I don't even know what to say right now, that was one of the most intense and amazing things I've seen," he tweeted.

Canadian women's hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser retweeted Jamie Oleksiak, jokingly suggesting that he'll now be known as "Penny's brother."

Kylie Masse picked up an medal for Canada on Monday with a bronze in the 100-metre backstroke.

Also on Monday, the Canadian women's sevens rugby team claimed bronze by crushing Great Britain 33-10 on the pitch.

Divers Roseline Filion and Meaghan Benfeito added to the bronze count with their performance in the 10-metre synchronized plunge on Wednesday. And in rowing, Canada's Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee snagged a silver in the lightweight women's double sculls competition.

That puts Canada at nine medals so far at the Games, with every one of those medals won by a female.

Women winning big in Rio

While Oleksiak has quickly emerged as one of Canada's stars in the pool, U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky has arguably become the biggest star of the Olympics so far. The 19-year-old swimmer shattered a world record with her gold medal win in the 400-metre freestyle on Sunday, finishing approximately two seconds ahead of the record and five seconds ahead of the second-place swimmer in the race.

Her victory touched off a flurry of praise on social media from many Americans, including one tweet from actor Samuel L. Jackson.

In addition to her gold medal, Ledecky won a silver medal as part of the United States' 4x100-metre freestyle team.

Egyptian beach volleyball player has also been one of the athletes to watch at the Games. In a sport in which most women wear skimpy bikinis, Elghobashy stands out because she's been blocking, spiking, digging and diving in a hijab and a long-sleeved uniform.

"I have worn the hijab for 10 years," she told The Associated Press on Sunday. "It doesn't keep me away from the things I love to do, and beach volleyball is one of them."

Elghobashy and Walkenhorst

Germany's Kira Walkenhorst, right, tries to spike a ball past Egypt's Doaa Elghobashy, left, during a women's beach volleyball match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016. (AP / Petr David Josek)

Elghobashy's teammate, Nada Meawad, also wore pants and a long-sleeved shirt, but did not wear a hijab. The body-covering outfits were permitted due to a ruling by the international volleyball federation in 2012, which relaxed the sport's uniform regulations so they could be more inclusive.

One popular image on social media shows Elgobashy and Germany's Kira Walkenhorst both reaching for the volleyball at the net, with Elgobashy in her hijab uniform and Walkenhorst wearing a bikini. "Both women, both love volleyball," Twitter user .

In another big moment for inclusivity, a Brazilian rugby player accepted a marriage proposal from her girlfriend on the field after the women's sevens final on Monday. Isadora Cerullo became the first athlete to accept a marriage proposal at the 2016 Summer Games, when her partner Marjorie Enya proposed in a speech over the loudspeaker. Enya works at the stadium where the rugby final was held. "I wanted to show people that love wins," Enya told .

Sexism still a problem

Although women have been taking centre stage at the Games so far, media coverage hasn't been entirely respectful of their achievements. On Sunday, for instance, the Chicago Tribune newspaper referred to bronze-medal winner Corey Cogdell-Unrein as the "wife of a Bears lineman" in a tweet, without using Cogdell-Unrein's name. Online backlash against the tweet was fierce, with many slamming the newspaper for diminishing Cogdell-Unrein's accomplishment.

"And the credit for the Olympics medal goes to… the husband of the awardee," Twitter user wrote. "Some things never change. Sigh."

"She went to the Olympics, won a bronze medal but the Chicago Tribune can't refer to her by name?" tweeted . "Instead she's a 'bears wife.' Wtf."

User @2ndTierFan at the newspaper: "Wife of Chicago Tribune writer deeply embarrassed by headline."

In another instance of misdirected praise for an athlete's husband, an NBC commentator on Saturday credited Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu's husband (and coach) for her world record-setting swim. NBC's Dan Hicks referred to Hosszu's husband and coach, Shane Tusup, as "the guy responsible." The comment quickly drew the ire of social media.

Hosszu asked her then-boyfriend Tusup to become her coach following a disappointing performance at the London Games in 2012. Hosszu overhauled her training regimen under Tusup's guidance and won several medals at world championship events.

NBC's Dan Hicks later apologized for the comment, saying he wished he'd said things differently.

Katinka Hosszu with Shane Tusup

Hungary's Katinka Hosszu with Shane Tusup, her coach and husband, after winning a semifinal of the women's 200-meter individual medley during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP / Matt Slocum)