Fencer reregistered wrote:I didn't know this, but there were only 4 women's track events at the whole 1948 Summer Olympics.
The same woman won all of them.
She was also shotput champion in her native country.
Although international competition was stopped by World War II, Blankers-Koen set several world records during that period, in events as diverse as the long jump, the high jump, and sprint and hurdling events.
In 1948 she decided not to take part in all events, but limit herself to four: she dropped the high jump and long jump to concentrate on the 100 m, the 200 m, the 80 m hurdles, and the 4 × 100 m relay. With world records for long jump and high jump she could have won 6 golds... As a mother of 2!
"Her Olympic victories are credited with helping to eliminate the belief that age and motherhood were barriers to success in women's sport."
"Because of the strict amateurism rules in force at the time, she had to turn most offers down. However, a fortnight after the 1948 Olympics, she entertained 35,000 spectators by equalling her 100m world record of 10.8 seconds on Lansdowne Road’s “heavy grass track” Not official and hand clocked, but 10.8 is really fast, even now. Her PB was 11.5 though, World record untill 1952.
After the Olympics she received a new bicycle from the city of Amsterdam.
In 1999, she was voted "Female Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Also interesting fact: she competed against an intersex person, probably the same as the Algerian boxer: "Foekje Dillema competed in sprinting where she was a rival of Fanny Blankers-Koen. When she refused a sex verification test at age 24, she was banned from competition by the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1950. After her death, it was determined that she was an intersex person."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Blankers-Koen
