FORMER PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Fanny Blankers-Koen
I’ve longed been inspired by athletes. It’s why I write this blog in the first place. So, having the ability to bring attention to amazing athletes forgotten in time… it brings me so much satisfaction. ~Shelly Holt
Today, I’m happy to shine the light on another bygone athlete you’ve probably never heard of (unless you’re Dutch and/or know about the history of track and field). Her name is: Fanny Blankers-Koen.
She did something over 72 years ago that no woman had ever done or has since: she won 4 Olympic gold medals at a single Games in “athletics” or, track and field (100m, 200m, 80m hurdles and 4x100m relay).
And, some have said that if she was allowed to compete in more Olympic sports instead of being capped at 3 individual and 1 team race (just because she was a woman), she would have won 8 or more medals at the London Games…
But, Blankers-Koen’s legacy transcends her enormous accomplishments as an athlete in 1948.
When she won her 4 gold medals at the 1948 London Olympics, she was a 30-year old married housewife and mother of two.
She was also a Dutch person still enduring the brutal effects the German occupation had on the Netherlands (including food scarcity and lack of places to train), years after the Nazis left.
She also faced constant sexism and societal criticism that as a woman and mother, it was her job to stay home and take care of her children, not to compete in competitive sports.
On top of all of that, Blankers-Koen was so devastatingly nervous about the pressures she faced, she almost walked away from it all in the middle of the Olympics.
In the end, when this remarkable woman emerged from obscurity in 1948, she showed everyone that a normal person could have the strength, perseverance and tenacity to achieve their dreams. And, it inspired millions.
Blankers-Koen was just like the ordinary citizens who were cheering her on. She had just been through hell and back and was beginning to put the pieces of her life in order.
And, yet there she was, a woman, a housewife, a mother, breaking the tape at Wembley Stadium over and over and over…
BACKGROUND
Fancina “Fanny” Elsje Koen was born on April 26, 1918 in Holland. Sports were in her blood, as her father Arnold Koen had competed in track and field and continued to go to meets during her childhood.
She also was the third of five children and the only daughter born of the Koen family. Her four brothers enjoyed playing sports as she had, but none showed her promise in athleticism nor her rabid thirst for competition.
As Fanny grew up to become very tall (almost 6 ft), she competed in swimming, gymnastics, ice skating, running and fencing. But she was encouraged to focus on track for a sporting career, because her father was told she’d have a better chance to qualify for the Olympics in that sport.
So, by the relatively late age of 17, Fannie started competing in track internationally.
In only her third race, she set a national record for the 800m. A year later, she qualified in the trials for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin by finishing sixth in the high jump and fifth as a member of the 4x100m relay team.
But, her most cherished experienced from attending the 1936 Olympics was meeting her idol, Jesse Owens, the American track and field star who won four gold medals at those Games for the 100m, long jump, 200m, and 4x100m relay. When she got Owens’ autograph, she recalled later that it became her most “treasured Olympic memory”.
In 1938, Blankers-Koen set her first world record for the 100 yards race at the European Championships in Vienna and medaled bronze in that event as well as the 200m.
From there, she set her eyes on the 1940 Olympics Games in Helsinki. But, by the end of 1939, international sports were suspended indefinitely until after the war ended.
In 1940, the Nazis invaded the Netherlands and stayed until their formal surrender at the end of the war, in 1945.
During those 5 tough years of the German occupation, when the Dutch people were repressed, many expelled out of their homes, experienced brutal anti-semitism and others forced into working at factories for the Nazis, Fanny remained in Holland and married her coach, Jan Blankers, a former track star himself.
She had her first child in 1941, but she continued on training and competing domestically, for which she was publicly criticized for in the Dutch press.
It is easy to forget, but during the 1940s, it was uncommon for women of child-bearing age to have careers outside of the home. It was also frowned upon for women to participate in athletics at this time. Fanny recalled that “many” people wrote to her and told her to “stay home with my children”.
Despite the negative press, Fanny remained in competition domestically and between 1942 and 1944 set six new world records in the 80m hurdles, 100m, long jump and the 100m relay.
This is all remarkable, considering her training was limited due to being a new mother and because finding places to exercise was difficult during the German occupation, especially in some parts of the country where she lived.
Blankers-Koen and her family also experienced food shortages during the war which prevented her from training the way she would have liked. The winter of 1944-1945 was especially brutal and there was a scarcity of food around Europe and especially in the cities.
During this time, Fanny became very ill and was bed-ridden for six weeks. When she recovered, she could only cycle for fitness and found whatever she could eat and burn in her family’s stove alongside the roads.
Then, in early 1946, Fanny gave birth to her second child, a daughter. Two months later, she resumed training but had to remain somewhat subdued due to the continued lack of food available, even a year after the war ended.
Still, by June of that same year, Fanny won two of three events she participated in and competed in the European Championships in Oslo, including a gold in the 80m hurdles and 4×100 relay.
When the 1948 London Olympics came around, Fanny was the oldest woman participating in athletics at the time. The press came down hard on her and many called into question her decision to continue competing at her age and as a mother of two.
She once said, “One newspaperman wrote that I was too old to run, that I should stay at home and take care of my children… When I got to London, I pointed my finger at him and I said, ‘I show you.’”
And, so she did…
1948 OLYMPICS
In 1948, reconstruction had begun in earnest in Great Britain, but the country was still reeling from the devastating effects of World War II. The economy was in shambles, housing was in critically short supply and rationing of most goods and services imposed during the war remained ongoing (and would continue through 1954).
Yet, in coordination with the British Olympic Council, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to allocate London as the host for the first post-war Summer Olympics that same year.
At first, Britain had second thoughts about the allocation and almost handed the Summer Games to the United States. But King George VI would come to view an Olympics in his hometown as a great opportunity to “heal his nation’s spirit”.
So, Britain set out to create an inspiring Games, but one that would not require an excessive amount of money, for obvious reasons.
And, while the British Olympic Council did retain help from four major sponsors to supplement government funds for the Games, the 1948 London Olympics went off with the barest of necessities. It became known as the “Austerity Games”.
For example, sporting equipment had to be borrowed and/or donated from other countries, no new villages or venues were constructed for the Games, foreign athletes were housed in either existing army barracks or college dormitories, large parts of London still had bombing rubble in view on the streets, and many of the 5,000 athletes who came from 59 countries had to make their own uniforms.
But, perhaps the most notable part of the “Austerity Games” was the fact that many European athletes whose lives had been disrupted by the war did not have adequate places to train and endured strict food rationing.
Unlike American athletes and those from countries who could afford to bring food with them (like steaks, chocolate and flour), English and European athletes were only allotted the same increase in calories a day given to dock workers and miners.
It is a wonder then, to think how Fanny Blankers-Koen still garnered enough energy to outrun the rest of her competitors…
Though she was the world record holder in the high jump and long jump, she had to choose between three individual events.
So, she first entered the 100m and won the gold, becoming the first Dutch athlete to win an Olympic title in athletics.
Next up was the 80m hurdles. Her husband encouraged her to compete in this event which she was nervous about. After getting out of the blocks slow and bumping into a hurdle, she managed to beat the British favorite in the final by a photo finish.
After the race ended, she told her husband she wanted to withdraw from the 200m, especially after the press said she ran “like she was chasing the kids out of the pantry.” And, she: “fled through her trial heats as though racing to the kitchen to rescue a batch of burning biscuits.”
But, she continued forward and in the pouring rain, won the 200m race by seven-tenths of a second, still the largest margin of victory in an Olympic 200m final.
And, finally, Blankers-Koen brought home the gold as the anchor for the 4×100 relay team on the last day of the Olympics. When she got the baton, her squad was lagging behind in third palace. She somehow made up the difference and finished a tenth of second before all others.
Altogether, Blankers-Koen competed in 11 heats and finals in 8 days at the 1948 London Olympics. For her efforts, she earned the nicknames, “The Flying Housewife” and “Amazing Fanny”. She was also named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for 1948.
When she got home to Amsterdam, she was greeted with raucous celebrations and was ridden through the city on a carriage pulled by four white horses. She was also recognized by the Royal Family. But, she did not make much money on her success. Due to amateur athletic rules at the time, she had to turn down endorsements offers that went her way.
LATER IN LIFE
Blankers-Koen resumed competition after the Olympics and continued to enjoy excellent results through 1950 when she received the gold medals in the European Championships in Brussels for the 100m, 200m and 80m hurdles. She nearly missed repeating her triumph of a fourth gold like the Olympics in the 4×100 relay, but received the silver medal instead.
In 1952 at the age of 34, she competed in her third and final Olympics (in Helsinki), but was not victorious in any event she entered despite being in good shape. Her final victory was in 1955 at 37 years old when she won the national title in the shot put (her 58th Dutch title).
In 1972, she attended the Munich Games and met her hero Jesse Owens once again. She introduced herself and told him she still had his autograph from the 1936 Olympics when they first met. In a moment of personal triumph for her Mr. Owens replied, “You don’t have to tell me who you are. I know everything about you.”
In 1999, and at the age of 81, Blankers-Koen was declared Female Athlete of the Century by the International Association of Athletics Federations, alongside Carl Lewis who was declared the top male in the same category. Like Blankers-Koen, Lewis had also won 4 gold medals in a single Olympics for athletics.
When she won this prestigious award, Blankers-Koen was shocked. “You mean it is me who has won. I had no idea!” she said. “When I think of all the great women athletes of this century, and the young people who are doing so well, I must say that I am surprised … but quite pleased as well! I can still remember every detail of every heat and final in London. Thankfully, my memories are still very vivid.”
In 2004, Blankers-Koen would die at the age of 85. A Games and stadium are named for her in the Netherlands. All told, she set 20 world records and 85 Dutch records in short-distance running, the pole vault, hurdles, the long jump and pentathlon. And, she won 5 European titles in addition to her Olympic medals.
THE AMAZING FANNY’S LEGACY
Today, we can still benefit from the many facets of Blankers-Koen’s legacy.
For one, we can look at how she kept moving forward and let nothing stop her from greatness.
We can recognize how she experienced a lack of the basic requirements an athlete would need to be successful for years on end, but she kept pushing forward.
Even when the majority of the world didn’t think a housewife could (or should) touch infamy in the magnitude of the moment, she stepped up and kept going.
And, even when she doubted herself, she made it happen.
The kind of strength and fortitude Blankers-Koen embodied isn’t on display often enough in our world.
That’s why we need to embrace the legacy of what this amazing woman did with her life… and learn from it.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty ImagesSources :
National Women’s History Museum: https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/womens-sports-history
Time-Life The Olympics: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lZmhDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT21&lpg=PT21&dq=%22blankers+koen%22+%22son%22&source=bl&ots=9SBfAZdO6q&sig=FbWeDINL7g9xNfSIXs8LFpQjs2I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi59YP8ndjaAhUMDMAKHQEFAPEQ6AEIngEwFA#v=onepage&q=%22blankers%20koen%22%20%22son%22&f=false
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