6/1/2023 0 Comments Fanny blankers koen![]() Then, she tied the 100 m world record, but this was never recognised officially, as she competed against men when setting the record. First, she improved the high jump record to 1.71 m in a specially arranged competition in Amsterdam. The first came in 1942, when she improved the world mark in the 80 m hurdles. Blankers-Koen and her husband had other plans, and she resumed training only weeks after her son's birth.ĭuring war time, Blankers-Koen would set six new world records. Top female athletes who were married were rare at the time, and it was simply inconceivable to most that a mother would be an athlete. When Blankers-Koen gave birth to her first child Jan Junior in 1941, Dutch media automatically "concluded" her career would be over. However, his attitude towards female athletes changed after he fell in love with Koen, who was fifteen years younger than he was. ![]() Blankers, a former triple jumper (participant in the 1928 Olympics) was a sports journalist and the coach of the Dutch women's athletics team, even though he originally thought women should not compete in sports – not an unusual opinion at the time. Just prior to the invasion, Koen had become engaged, and on August 29, 1940, she married Jan Blankers, thereby changing her name to Blankers-Koen. The Olympics were formally cancelled on May 2, 1940, a week before the Netherlands were invaded by German troops. However, the outbreak of World War II put a stop to the preparations. Many observers, and Koen herself, expected her to do well at the upcoming Olympics, which were to be held in Helsinki in July 1940. At the European Championships in Vienna, she won the bronze in both the 100 and 200 m, which were both won by Stanisława Walasiewicz. In 1938, she ran her first World Record (11.0 seconds in the 100 yards), and she also won her first international medals. In the high jump, she took sixth place (shared with two other jumpers) while the Dutch relay team came fifth in the final (the sixth team in the final, Germany, was disqualified). In Berlin, she participated in the high jump and the 4 × 100 m relay, both held on the same day. The following year, only eighteen years old, she was nominated for the 1936 Olympic team. Fanny Koen soon made the Dutch team, although as a sprinter, not a middle distance runner. Her first competition was a disappointment, but in her third race, she set a new National Record in the 800 m. Her first appearance in the sport was in 1935. A swimming coach advised her to do athletics because there were already several top swimmers in the Netherlands at that time (such as Rie Mastenbroek), and she would have a better chance to qualify for the Olympics in athletics. It soon became clear she was a sports talent, but she could not decide which sport to pick. As a teenager, she enjoyed tennis, swimming, gymnastics, ice skating and running. She was born Fanny Koen in Lage Vuursche (near Baarn) to Arnoldus and Helena Koen. In 1999, she was voted "Female Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). ![]() She retired from athletics in 1955, after which she became leader of the Dutch female track and field team. Although international competition was hampered by World War II, Blankers-Koen set several world records during that period, in events as diverse as the long jump, the high jump, sprint and hurdling events.Īpart from her four Olympic titles, she won five European titles, 58 Dutch championships and set or tied 12 world records. Having started competing in athletics in 1935, she took part in the 1936 Summer Olympics a year later. It earned her the nickname "The Flying Housewife". At that time, she was already a mother of two, which was unheard of at a time where female athletes were still frowned upon by many. She is most famous for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Left of her is silver medallist Maureen Gardner, while 3rd place finisher Shirley Strickland is depicted on the far left.įrancina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen ( April 26, 1918– January 25, 2004) was a Dutch athlete. Fanny Blankers-Koen speeding towards the gold medal in the final of the 80 m hurdles event at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
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