Fanny Blankers-Koen – Biography, who was she, why was she famous?

How do you know Fanny Blankers-Koen? Due to her feat and accomplishments as a female athlete, she played a crucial role in eradicating the belief that older or married women with children could not excel in any sport.

Fanny Blankers-Koen was a Dutch professional track and field athlete who broke twelve world records at the age of 33. She is also known for winning four gold medals at the Summer Olympics in London in 1948; Unsurprisingly, it was also a feat that chose her as captain of the Dutch athletics team. Subsequently, she was named “Female Athlete of the Century” in 1999 by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Keep reading to learn more inspiring details about the champion.

Fanny Blankers-Koen bio

On April 26, 1918, Fanny Blankers-Koen was born in Lage Vuursche, the Netherlands, to Arnold and Helen Koen. She grew up with five siblings, all male. As a child, Fanny had natural talents in various types of sports including; running, swimming, fencing, tennis, gymnastics and ice skating. Although she was good at all of these sports, she had a hard time deciding which one to focus on.

The answer came later when the coach of a swimming team advised him to focus on running, especially with a height of 175 meters (5 ft 9 in). Since the Netherlands already had a lot of top athletes, the Netherlands would do well to focus on a sport that was not already dominated like women’s athletics.

Fanny took the coach’s advice and sought to develop and improve in running. Following this, she made her very first competitive appearance in 1935, when she was 17 years old. Although she failed to make an impression, she kept trying until her third contest, when she ran the 800m to set a national record. For the Olympics, she easily trained the Dutch team as a sprinter rather than a middle-distance runner. This is only because long distance (800m) races for female runners at the Olympics were discontinued in 1928 because it was deemed too physically demanding for women.

In 1936, Jan Blankers, who competed in the 1928 Olympics as a triple jumper, motivated Fanny to participate in the 1936 Olympic trials. At that time, Fanny Blankers-Koen was only eighteen years old when she was chosen to compete in the 4 × 100 m relay as well as the high jump category. On the date of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, the 4 × 100 m relay as well as the high jump were performed on the same day.

In the relay, she and her team won fifth place, which was the same position she came out in the high jump category. Seeing that she and her team had done well at the Olympics that year, she was encouraged to come back in four years and do much better.

Two years later, in 1938, Fanny Blankers-Koen would win her first-ever world record title in the 100-yard run with a record time of 11.0 seconds. She then won the bronze medals in the 100m and 200m at the European Championships in Vienna. At this match, many believed that she would probably surpass the other contenders for the 1940 Olympics, which were to be held in Helsinki.

Who was she and why was she known

Unfortunately, the 1940 Olympics were officially canceled as a result of World War II which broke out that year after the invasion of the Netherlands. Before the war, she became engaged to her trainer, Jan Blankers, who was fifteen years older whom she later married. Interestingly, Jan Blankers was one of those who believed that women should not be involved in sports activities, but after falling in love with her, while seeing her potential, her way of thinking changed.

As a couple, they welcomed their first child and son, Jan Junior, in 1942. After the birth of his son, many people, including the Dutch media, assumed his career would be over, as there was no many women who pursued a sporting career after giving birth. Also, given that she was over 30 at the time, she was too old to compete in any further competitions. To the surprise of many, Fanny Blankers-Koen and her husband started training just weeks after giving birth. She then won 80 m hurdles at the 1946 European Championships. On August 7, 1955, she ended her career as an active athlete with a total of 58 Dutch titles and 12 world records.

See also: Dante Pettis Brother, Parents, Family, Height, Weight, Dimensions

After retiring from active competition, FannyBlankers-Koen traveled to different countries to promote athletic competition among women. She was also appointed leader of the Dutch athletics team, from the 1958 European Championships to the 1968 Summer Olympics. She died in Hoofddorp on 25 January 2004 at the age of 85. She has been dubbed the “Flying Housewife” as well as “A Queen with Men’s Legs” due to her impressive career and history.