Olympic heroine Blankers-Koen dies
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Blankers-Koen crosses the finish line of the 200 meters race.
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LONDON, England -- Francina "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, who won four gold medals at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, has died aged 85.
The Dutch woman, who earned the nickname "The Flying Housewife," was a 30-year-old mother-of-two when she made track and field history at Wembley Stadium.
She took gold in the 100 and 200 meters, 80-meters hurdles and 4x100 meters. No woman athlete has won so many golds at a single Olympics.
Her achievements were recognized in 1999 when the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) voted her female athlete of the 20th century.
Blankers-Koen's Olympic career had been interrupted by World War Two, when two editions of the Games were cancelled.
In 1936, Blankers-Koen was 18 when she was picked to join the Dutch team at the Berlin Games. She tied for fifth place in the high jump and was part of the 4x100-meter relay team that finished fifth.
The highlight of those Games for her, she said, was getting the autograph of Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in the men's events.
By the time the Olympics resumed after a 12-year break, Blankers-Koen held six world records -- in the 100 yards, 80-meter hurdles, high and long jumps and as a member of two relay teams.
In the interim, she had married her coach, Jan Blankers, an Olympic triple jumper, and given birth to two sons.
Critics said she was too old to win the sprint at the 1948 Games but she silenced them immediately with the fastest time in the opening round of the 100 meters.
Before the 200 meters semi-finals, her third event, Blankers-Koen told her husband Jan she wanted to withdraw because of the pressure on her to win again. Jan persuaded her to continue and she won her heat by six meters, establishing an Olympic record of 24.3 seconds.
Largest margin
The next day she won the final by seven meters, the largest margin ever recorded in the women's 200..
Many felt she could have won the long jump as well if she had entered it as the winning leap was some 20 inches shorter than her world record. But Games rules restricted women athletes to three individual events.
When she got home to her native Amsterdam, Blankers-Koen was driven through the crowded streets in an open, horse-drawn carriage. Fans presented her with a bicycle "so she won't have to run so much" and a statue was erected in the city in her honour.
"I remember thinking how strange that I had made so many people happy," recalled Blankers-Koen, who continued to ride a bicycle and play tennis into her 80s.
"But times were harsh and people were glad of the opportunity to celebrate anything. It made me proud to know I had been able to bring joy into people's lives."
At the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, Blankers-Koen reached the 80 meters final again but, hampered by a carbuncle on her leg, hit the first two hurdles and pulled up.
Blankers-Koen set 20 world records in different events including sprint, hurdles, long and high jump and pentathlon, won five European titles between 1945 and 1950 and captured 58 national titles in the Netherlands.
But her most treasured memory remained meeting Owens in Berlin. They met again at the 1972 Games in Munich. "I said: 'I still have your autograph. I'm Fanny Blankers-Koen," she recalled.
"He said: 'You don't have to tell me who you are, I know everything about you.' Isn't that incredible? Jesse Owens knew who I was."
Blankers-Koen suffered poor health and Alzheimer's in her last years. Last June she failed to attend the FBK games, the most prestigious athletic event in the Netherlands, which she traditionally opened. Both the games and the stadium where they are held are named in her honor.
