In an effort to understand talent development in US female Olympians, the importance of sport space emerged as a central component to the development of talent for these athletes. Through qualitative interviews with twenty-eight former and current US female Olympians, the concept of sport space and the experiences within sport space emerged as crucial components to the development of talent in US female Olympians. Sport space was conceptualized as access to facilities, coaching, sport medicine and additional support (sport psychologists, sport nutritionists) and elite competition, integral components to talent development for athletes. To provide further contribution to understanding the role of sport space in the development of talent for elite female athletes, phenomenological interviewing with eight former US female Olympians was utilized. How these women made meaning of sport space, their feelings, emotions and interpretations of this space was explored. Some athletes participated in athletics prior to Title IX, providing interesting insights into how sport space was sought and created during a time of either complacent acceptance or hostile resistance to women’s athletic talent development. Often denied access because of their gender, these women found ways to create their own sport space. As acceptance of women’s sport participation grew with the implementation of Title IX, demand for equal opportunity in access to sport space also developed. These participants recognized the importance of access to elite sport space and the subsequent influence on the development of their talents at the elite level. In addition to sport space, the concept of lived sport space emerged as an important influence on the development of talent for these participants. Many discussed their feelings of emergence into their sport through the experience of elite sport space; in addition to the control and focus they were able to experience in their lived sport space. These athletes recognized their experiences as integral in moving to the Olympic level of competition. The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education state, “It takes a large and vibrant base of general sports participants and 15 to 20 years of elite athlete support to create an Olympic gold medallist or professional athlete – years in which an athlete is given access to quality coaching, sports facilities, weight rooms, athletic scholarships, and competition.” This research supports the importance of access to sport space as a necessary factor contributing to talent development for US female Olympians.Keyword(s): athletics/sports, gender issues, olympic related