Fanny Blankers-Koen

Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen (April 26, 1918 – January 25, 2004) was a Dutch athlete. She is most famous for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. 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. It earned her the nickname "The Flying Housewife".

Early life

She was born Fanny Koen in Lage Vuursche (near Baarn) to Arnoldus and Helena Koen. As a teenager, she enjoyed tennis, swimming, gymnastics, ice skating and running. It soon became clear she was a sports talent, but she could not decide which sport to pick. 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.

Related Topics:
Lage Vuursche - Baarn - Tennis - Swimming - Gymnastics - Ice skating - Running - Rie Mastenbroek

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Her first appearance in the sport was in 1935. Her first competition was a disappointment, but in her third race, she set a new National Record in the 800 m. Fanny Koen soon made the Dutch team, although as a sprinter, not a middle distance runner. The following year, only eighteen years old, she was nominated for the 1936 Olympic team.

Related Topics:
M - 1936 Olympic

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In Berlin, she participated in the high jump and the 4 × 100 m relay, both held on the same day. 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).

Related Topics:
Berlin - High jump - Relay - Germany

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Slowly, Koen rose to the top. In 1938, she ran her first World Record (11.0 seconds in the 100 yards), and she also won her first international medals. At the European Championships in Vienna, she won the bronze in both the 100 and 200 m, which were both won by Stanisława Walasiewicz. Many observers, and Koen herself, expected her to do well at the upcoming Olympics, which were to be held in Helsinki in July 1940. However, the outbreak of World War II put a stop to the preparations. The Olympics were formally cancelled on May 2, 1940, a week before the Netherlands were invaded by German troops.

Related Topics:
Yard - Vienna - Stanisława Walasiewicz - Helsinki - World War II

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