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143-523: Francina Elsje " Fanny " Blankers-Koen ( Dutch: [frɑnˈsinaː ˈʔɛlɕə ˈfɑni ˈblɑŋkərs ˈkun] ; 26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning her the nickname " the Flying Housewife ", and was the most successful athlete at

286-443: A sandpit . The athletes must jump before a marked line and their achieved distance is measured from the nearest point of sand disturbed by the athlete's body. The athletics competition at the first Olympics featured a men's long jump competition and a women's competition was introduced at the 1948 Summer Olympics . Professional long jumpers typically have strong acceleration and sprinting abilities. However, athletes must also have

429-439: A water jump on each lap. Despite the long history of men's steeplechase in track and field, the women's steeplechase only gained World Championship status in 2005, with its first Olympic appearance in 2008. The long jump is one of the oldest track and field events, having its roots as one of the events within the ancient Greek pentathlon contest. The athletes would take a short run up and jump into an area of dug up earth, with

572-497: A 120-yard race (110 m) with ten hurdles of 3-foot and 6 inches (1.06 m) in height (each placed 10 yards (9 m) apart), with the first and final hurdles 15 yards from the start and finish, respectively. French organisers adapted the race into metric (adding 28 cm) and the basics of this race, the men's 110 metres hurdles , has changed little. The origin of the 400 metres hurdles also lies in Oxford, where around 1860

715-529: A 2004 national poll, Blankers-Koen ranked 29th for De Grootste Nederlander (The Greatest Netherlander); she was the third highest sportsperson (after footballers Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten ) and the seventh highest woman in the poll. Two public statues of her have been erected in the Netherlands: the first was made by Han Rehm and placed in Rotterdam in 1954 and the second, made by Antoinette Ruiter ,

858-402: A certain distance. There are two types of field events: jumps and throws. In jumping competitions, athletes are judged on either the length or height of the jumps. The performances of jumping events for distance are measured from a board or marker, and overstepping this mark is judged as a foul. In the jumps for height, an athlete must clear their body over a crossbar without knocking the bar off

1001-489: A certain point to begin their part of the race. There will be an official looking to see if they take off too early. If they do so, then they will be disqualified; if they take off late then it will just hurt their time and chances of winning the event. In the United States, the men's team of Aries Merritt , Jason Richardson , Aleec Harris , and David Oliver , set the world record in the 440m shuttle hurdle relay race at

1144-482: A competition was held over 440 yards and twelve 1.06 m high wooden barriers were placed along the course. The modern regulations stem from the 1900 Summer Olympics : the distance was fixed to 400 m while ten 3-foot (91.44 cm) hurdles were placed 35 m apart on the track, with the first and final hurdles being 45 m and 40 m away from the start and finish, respectively. Women's hurdles are slightly lower at 84 cm (2 ft 9 in) for

1287-511: A consistent stride to allow them to take off near the board while still maintaining their maximum speed. In addition to the traditional long jump, a standing long jump contest exists which requires that athletes leap from a static position without a run-up. A men's version of this event featured on the Olympic programme from 1900 to 1912. As of 2024 , the men's long jump world record is held by Mike Powell , jumping 8.95 meters in 1991. Similar to

1430-649: A crowd of over ten thousand people. In response, the Amateur Athletic Club was formed that same year and held a championship for "gentlemen amateurs" in an attempt to reclaim the sport for the educated elite. Ultimately the "allcomers" ethos of the NOA won through and in 1880 the AAC was reconstituted as the Amateur Athletic Association , the first national body for the sport of athletics . The AAA Championships ,

1573-450: A cushioned landing area. The men's high jump was included in the 1896 Olympics and a women's competition followed in 1928. Jumping technique has played a significant part in the history of the event. High jumpers typically cleared the bar feet first in the late 19th century, using either the Scissors , Eastern cut-off or Western roll technique. The straddle technique became prominent in

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1716-551: A decade later, the first Wenlock Olympian Games were held at Much Wenlock racecourse in 1851. It included a "half-mile foot race" (805 m) and a "leaping in distance" competition. In 1865, Dr William Penny Brookes of Wenlock helped set up the National Olympian Association , which held their first Olympian Games in 1866 at the Crystal Palace in London. This national event was a great success, attracting

1859-867: A fully professional competition with the introduction of prize money in 1997, and in 1998 the IAAF Golden League —an annual series of major track and field meetings in Europe—raised the economic incentive through its US$ 1 million jackpot. In 2010, the series was replaced by the more lucrative Diamond League , a fourteen-meeting series held in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East—the first-ever worldwide annual series of track and field meetings. Track and field events are divided into three categories: track events, field events and combined events. The majority of athletes tend to specialize in one event type with

2002-675: A gala in Monaco, organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), she was declared the "Female Athlete of the Century". She was very surprised to have won, audibly asking "You mean it is me who has won?" In the years prior to her death, Blankers-Koen suffered from Alzheimer's disease and lived in a psychiatric nursing home. She was also deaf. She died at age 85 in Hoofddorp on 25 January 2004. A year before her death,

2145-422: A hurdler knocks a hurdle into an opponent's lane and it is judged to have interfered with the opponent's ability to run the race. There are now specifications for the tipping weight of a hurdle (the weights need to be adjusted to correspond with the height of the hurdle) so hitting a hurdle theoretically slows down the rhythm of the hurdler. However, pushing the hurdle with one's hands or running out of one's lane as

2288-484: A largely amateur sport, as this rule was strictly enforced: Jim Thorpe was stripped of his track and field medals from the 1912 Olympics after it was revealed that he had taken expense money for playing baseball, violating Olympic amateurism rules. His medals were reinstated 29 years after his death. That same year, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) was established as

2431-403: A leg) before handing over a baton to a teammate, who then begins their leg. There is usually a designated area where athletes must exchange the baton. Teams may be disqualified if they fail to complete the change within the area, or if the baton is dropped during the race. A team may also be disqualified if its runners are deemed to have wilfully impeded other competitors. Relay races emerged in

2574-605: A masculine activity. On 9 November 1895, the first women's track meet in the United States was held and it was called "a field day". Alice Milliat argued for the inclusion of women at the Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee refused. She founded the International Women's Sports Federation in 1921 and, alongside a growing women's sports movement in Europe and North America, the group initiated of

2717-434: A maximum of only 4 teams, since most tracks only have 8 lanes. Two lanes will be taken up by one team. The #1 and #3 runners on the team will run in one direction down one specific lane and the #2 and #4 runners will run in the opposite direction in the other lane. The runners on each team go in sequence from 1 to 4. Instead of using batons, the runners waiting for their teammate to finish must wait until their teammate gets to

2860-733: A multisport stadium in Hengelo ( Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadium ), a sports park in Almere (FBK-sportpark), and a sports hall in Hoofddorp where she lived (Fanny Blankers-Koen hal). Blankers-Koen was honoured with a Google Doodle on 26 April 2018, on her 100th birthday. Information from her World Athletics profile unless noted otherwise. Track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running , jumping , and throwing skills. The name used in North America

3003-458: A new bicycle: "to go through life at a slower pace" and "so she need not run so much". Queen Juliana made her a knight of the Order of Orange Nassau . Now known all over the world, Blankers-Koen received many offers for endorsements, advertisements, publicity stunts, and the like. Because of the strict amateurism rules in force at the time, she had to turn most offers down. However, a fortnight after

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3146-474: A number of different track and field events. Points are given for their performance in each event and the athlete or team with the highest score at the end of all events is the winner. Races over short distances, or sprints , are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event, the stadion race , which was a race from one end of

3289-399: A number of occasions in the 1940s. The prominence of the distances were maintained by Roger Bannister , who in 1954 was the first to run the long-elusive four-minute mile , and Jim Ryun 's exploits served to popularise interval training . Races between British rivals Sebastian Coe , Steve Ovett and Steve Cram characterised middle-distance running in the 1980s. From the 1990s until

3432-411: A result of hitting the hurdle is cause for disqualification. While hitting hurdles is not generally considered desirable, a few sprint hurdlers have succeeded despite knocking over many hurdles. Contact with hurdles can decrease speed and also result in disruption of a hurdler's technique. Some coaches suggest if you lightly "kiss" the hurdle with the side of the leg closest to the hurdle, it can help with

3575-459: A runner hits it. There is no penalty for hitting a hurdle (provided this is not judged deliberate). The misconception is based on old rules before the hurdles were weighted. In the 1932 Olympics , Bob Tisdall famously won the Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles in World Record time, but was not credited with the record due to knocking over a hurdle. There can be a disqualification if

3718-458: A single victor; the most prominent team events are relay races , which typically feature teams of four. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the men's and women's competitions are usually held at the same venue. Recently, "mixed" relay events have been introduced into meets, whereby two men and two women make up the four-person team. If a race has too many people to run all at once, preliminary heats will be run to narrow down

3861-583: A slight disappointment. In the 100 m semi-finals, held during the high jump final, she fell and failed to qualify for the final. Competing with bruises from the fall, she ended the high jump competition in fourth. The second day was more successful, as she won the 80 m hurdles event, and led the Dutch relay team to victory in the 4 × 100 m. As the leading female athlete in the Netherlands – in 1947 she won national titles in six women's events – Blankers-Koen

4004-467: A square throwing area of seven feet (2.13 m) on each side. This was amended to a circle area with a seven-foot diameter in 1906, and the weight of the shot was standardised to 16 pounds (7.26 kg). Throwing technique was also refined over this period, with bent arm throws being banned as they were deemed too dangerous and the side-step and throw technique arising in the United States in 1876. Hurdling Accidental knocking over of hurdles

4147-414: A strip of track, plant the pole in the metal box, and vault over the horizontal bar before letting go of the pole and falling backwards onto the landing mattress. While earlier versions used wooden, metal or bamboo, modern poles are generally made from artificial materials such as fibreglass or carbon fibre . The pole vault has been an Olympic event since 1896 for men, but it was over 100 years later that

4290-508: A women's version gained World Championship status and went on to have its first Olympic appearance three years later. The men's standing triple jump event featured at the Olympics in 1900 and 1904, but such competitions have since become very uncommon, although it is still used as a non-competitive exercise drill. The Current world record for the Men's triple jump is 18.29 meter (60 ft 0in) held by Jonathan Edwards. The current women's world record

4433-458: A world best in 1983, Olympic champions Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey went head-to-head over the distance in 1997, and Usain Bolt improved Mennea's record in 2009. The most common middle-distance track events are the 800 metres , 1500 metres and mile run , although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 880 yard run , or half mile, was the forebear of

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4576-499: Is 15.67 meters (51 ft 4 3/4in) held by Yulimar Rojas. The first recorded instances of high jumping competitions were in Scotland in the 19th century. Further competitions were organised in 1840 in England and in 1865 the basic rules of the modern event were standardised there. Athletes have a short run up and then take off from one foot to jump over a horizontal bar and fall back onto

4719-475: Is 45 m (147 ft 8 in) from the starting line and the distance between hurdles is 35 m (114 ft 10 in). Most races which are shorter than the standard distance (such as indoor races) are simply run over fewer hurdles but use the same distances from the starting line. There are variations on hurdle height and spacing for the age groups of athletes competing. See Masters athletics (track and field) and Youth athletics. In order to obtain

4862-420: Is called the "women's high" used for women's short hurdle races. The lowest position, called the "low hurdle" 30 inches (76.2 cm) is used for women's long hurdles plus many youth and veteran races. Some races call for 27 inches or 68.6 centimetres for youth or veteran events. Hurdles that go to this position are rare and are notable by having a sixth position. In sprint hurdle races for men, regardless of

5005-421: Is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics , which also includes road running , cross country running and racewalking . In British English the term athletics is synonymous with American track and field and includes all jumping events. Outside of Canada and

5148-469: Is incorrect, suggesting that the belief stems from a mythologised account of Phayllus of Croton having jumped 55 ancient feet (around 16.3 m). The Book of Leinster , a 12th-century Irish manuscript, records the existence of geal-ruith (triple jump) contests at the Tailteann Games . The men's triple jump competition has been ever-present at the modern Olympics, but it was not until 1993 that

5291-552: Is not cause for disqualification, but the hurdles are weighted to make doing so disadvantageous. In 1902 Spalding equipment company sold the Foster Patent Safety Hurdle, a wood hurdle. In 1923 some of the wood hurdles weighed 16 lb (7.3 kg) each. Hurdle design improvements were made in 1935, when they developed the L-shaped hurdle. With this shape, the athlete could hit the hurdle and it will tip down, clearing

5434-399: Is run in some levels of American competition. Outside of the hurdles events, the steeplechase race is the other track and field event with obstacles. Just as the hurdling events, the steeplechase finds its origin in student competition in Oxford, England. However, this event was born as a human variation on the original steeplechase competition found in horse racing . A steeplechase event

5577-417: Is the oldest running club in the world, with written records going back to 1831 and evidence that it was established by 1819. The school organised Paper Chase races in which runners followed a trail of paper shreds left by two "foxes"; even today RSSH runners are called "hounds" and a race victory is a "kill". The first definite record of Shrewsbury's cross-country Annual Steeplechase is in 1834, making it

5720-449: Is used for men's sprint hurdle races (60 m, and 110 m), which are 42 inches (106.7 cm). The next highest, (sometimes "high school high" ) 39 inches (99.1 cm) is used by veteran men under age 50, and younger boys. The middle position of 36 inches (91.44 cm), (sometimes "intermediate") which is used for men's long hurdle races (400 m) plus some youth and veteran age divisions. The next lower position, 33 inches (83.8 cm)

5863-567: Is usually 60 meters for both men and women, although races 55 meters or 50 meters long are sometimes run, especially in the United States . A 60-meter indoor race is run over 5 hurdles. A shorter race may occasionally have only 4 hurdles. Outdoors, a long hurdle race is sometimes shortened to 300 meters for younger participants, who run over 8 hurdles. For example, high school and middle school athletes in California, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania run

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6006-439: Is very common at the elite level, although they are not present at championship level competitions as all qualified competitors want to win. Long-distance track events gained popularity in the 1920s by the achievements of the " Flying Finns ", such as multiple Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi . The successes of Emil Zátopek in the 1950s promoted intense interval training methods, but Ron Clarke 's record-breaking feats established

6149-427: The 100 m world record , but this was never recognised officially, as she competed against men when setting the record. She closed out the season with a new world record in the long jump , 6.25 m on 19 September 1943. The latter record would stand until 1954. Circumstances were not easy, and it became harder to get enough food, especially for an athlete in training. Despite this, Blankers-Koen managed to break

6292-492: The 80 meters hurdles at the Olympics in the mid-20th century. Hurdles race are also part of combined events contests, including the decathlon and heptathlon . In track races, hurdles are normally 68–107 cm (27–42 in) in height, depending on the age and sex of the hurdler. Events from 50 to 110 meters are technically known as high hurdles races, while longer competitions are low hurdles races. The track hurdles events are forms of sprinting competitions, although

6435-675: The Ancient Olympic include further running competitions, but the introduction of the Ancient Olympic pentathlon marked a step towards track and field as it is recognized today—it comprised a five-event competition of the long jump , javelin throw , discus throw , stadion footrace, and wrestling . Track and field events were also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period, and they spread to Rome in Italy around 201 BC. In

6578-682: The First British Track & Field championships for women and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sponsoring the first American Track & Field championships for women . In China, women's track and field events were being held in the 1920s, but were subject to criticism and disrespect from audiences. Physical education advocate Zhang Ruizhen called for greater equality and participation of women in Chinese track and field. The rise of Kinue Hitomi and her 1928 Olympic medal for Japan signified

6721-403: The International Association of Athletics Federations ( IAAF ), is the international governing body for the sport of athletics. Records are kept of the best performances in specific events, at world , continental, and national levels. However, if athletes are deemed to have violated the event's rules or regulations, they are disqualified from the competition and their marks are erased. In

6864-631: The Middle Ages the stone put was known in Scotland and the steinstossen was recorded in Switzerland. In the 17th century, cannonball throwing competitions within the English military provided a precursor to the modern sport. The term "shot" originates from the use of round shot -style ammunition for the sport. The modern rules were first laid out in 1860 and required that competitors take legal throws within

7007-537: The Middle Ages , new track and field events began developing in parts of Northern Europe. The stone put and weight throw competitions popular among Celtic societies in Ireland and Scotland were precursors to the modern shot put and hammer throw events. One of the last track and field events to develop was the pole vault , which stemmed from competitions such as fierljeppen in North European Lowlands in

7150-567: The Soviet Union , and early 21st century Russia , as well as prominent individual cases such as those of Olympic gold medallists Ben Johnson and Marion Jones , damaged the public image and marketability of the sport. From the 1990s onward, track and field became increasingly more professional and international, as the IAAF gained over 200 member nations. The IAAF World Championships in Athletics became

7293-644: The Women's Olympiad , held annually from 1921 to 1923. In cooperation with the English Women's Amateur Athletic Association (WAAA), the Women's World Games was held four times between 1922 and 1934, as well as a Women's International and British Games in London in 1924. These efforts ultimately led to the introduction of five track and field events for women in the athletics at the 1928 Summer Olympics . National women's events were established in this period, with 1923 seeing

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7436-706: The athlete 's path. The most prominent hurdles events are 110 meters hurdles for men, 100 meters hurdles for women, and 400 meters hurdles (both sexes) – these three distances are all contested at the Summer Olympics and the World Athletics Championships . The two shorter distances take place on the straight of a running track , while the 400 m version covers one whole lap of a standard oval track. Events over shorter distances are also commonly held at indoor track and field events, ranging from 50 meters hurdles upwards. Women historically competed in

7579-608: The de facto British national championships despite being for England only, have been held annually since July 1880 with breaks only during two world wars and 2006–2008. The AAA was effectively a global governing body in the early years of the sport, helping to codify its rules. Meanwhile, the New York Athletic Club in 1876 began holding an annual national competition, the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships . The establishment of general sports governing bodies for

7722-528: The high jump and the 4 × 100 m relay . At the Berlin Olympics, the high jump and the 4 × 100 m relay competitions were held on the same day. In the high jump, she took fifth place (shared with two other jumpers) while the Dutch relay team came in fifth in the final (the sixth team in the final, Germany, was disqualified). She also gained the autograph of American athlete Jesse Owens ; it became her most treasured possession. Slowly, Koen rose to

7865-429: The international governing body for track and field, and it enshrined amateurism as a founding principle for the sport. The National Collegiate Athletic Association held their first Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in 1921, making it one of the most prestigious competitions for students. In 1923 track and field featured at the inaugural World Student Games . The first continental track and field competition

8008-490: The 100 m event and 76 cm (2 ft 6 in) for the 400 m event. The most common events are the 100 metres hurdles for women, 110 m hurdles for men and 400 m hurdles for both sexes. The men's 110 m has been featured at every modern Summer Olympics while the men's 400 m was introduced in the second edition of the Games. Women's initially competed in the 80 metres hurdles event, which entered

8151-419: The 100 m semi-finals, but forfeited a start to save herself for the hurdles race. She reached the final in that event, but after knocking over the second hurdle, she abandoned the race. It was her last major competition. On 7 August 1955, Fanny Blankers-Koen was victorious for the last time, winning the national title in the shot put , her 58th Dutch title. After her athletic career, Blankers-Koen served as

8294-456: The 100 yd (91 m) world record in May 1944. At the same meet, she ran with the relay team that broke the 4 × 110 yd (100 m) world record. The German press was excited, as the previous record had been set by an English team. Months later, she helped break the 4 × 200 m record, which was held by Germany. In an act of defiance, the women wore outfits with national symbols while setting

8437-474: The 18th century. Discrete track and field competitions, separate from general sporting festivals , were first recorded in the 19th century. These were typically organised among rival educational institutions , military organisations and sports clubs . Influenced by a Classics -rich curriculum, competitions in the English public schools were conceived as human equivalents of horse racing , fox hunting and hare coursing . The Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt

8580-412: 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” Also, in 1949, she travelled abroad to promote women's athletics, flying to Australia and the United States. Blankers-Koen had been chosen the 1948 Helms Athletic Foundation World Trophy Winner for Europe, and in 1949 she travelled to Los Angeles to compete in

8723-696: The 1980s, the Soviet Bloc always fielded state-funded athletes who trained full-time, putting American and Western European athletes at a significant disadvantage. 1983 saw the establishment of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics , becoming, with the Olympics, one of track and field's most prestigious competitions. The profile of the sport reached an apogee in the 1980s, with a number of athletes becoming household names, like Carl Lewis , Sergey Bubka , Sebastian Coe , Zola Budd and Florence Griffith Joyner . Many world records were broken then, and

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8866-402: The 200 m distances came from the furlong (or 1/8 of a mile ), and the 400 m was the successor to the 440 yard dash or quarter-mile race. At the professional level, sprinters begin the race by assuming a crouching position in the starting blocks before leaning forward and gradually moving into an upright position as the race progresses and momentum is gained. Athletes remain in

9009-783: The 2010s, North Africans such as Noureddine Morceli of Algeria and Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco came to dominate the 1500 and mile events. In the 2020s, Western European athletes have returned to the forefront of the distance, with athletes such as Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway , Jake Wightman , and Josh Kerr (both British milers) winning global titles. Beyond the short distances of sprinting events, factors such as an athlete's reactions and top speed becomes less important, while qualities such as pace , tactics and endurance become more so. There are three common long-distance running events in track and field competitions: 3000 , 5000 , and 10,000 metres . The latter two races are both Olympic and World Championship events outdoors, while

9152-527: The 300 meter hurdles instead of running the 400 meter hurdles, like the majority of state competitors run today. The distance the hurdles are spaced is identical to the beginning of a standard 400 meter race which would have 10 hurdles. There are also 200 meter races for middle school and younger divisions over 5 hurdles (spaced in the same position as the last 5 hurdles of a standard 400 meter race). There are five hurdle heights on most standard hurdles. The highest position (sometimes "college high" or "open high")

9295-1089: The 3000 m is held at the IAAF World Indoor Championships . The 5000 m and 10,000 m events have their historical roots in the 3-mile and 6-mile races. The 3000 m was used as a women's long-distance event, entering the World Championship programme in 1983 and Olympic programme in 1984, but this was abandoned in favour of a women's 5000 m event in 1995. Marathons , while long-distance races, are typically run on street courses, and often are run separately from other track and field events. In terms of competition rules and physical demands, long-distance track races have much in common with middle-distance races, except that pacing, stamina , and tactics become much greater factors in performances. A number of athletes have achieved success in both middle- and long-distance events, including Saïd Aouita who set world records from 1500 m to 5000 m. The use of pace-setters in long-distance events

9438-431: The 400 m version is less anaerobic in nature and demands athletic qualities similar to the 800 meters flat race. A hurdling technique can also be found in the steeplechase , although in this event athletes are also permitted to step on the barrier to clear it. Similarly, in cross country running athletes may hurdle over various natural obstacles, such as logs, mounds of earth, and small streams – this represents

9581-483: The 800 m distance and it has its roots in competitions in the United Kingdom in the 1830s. The 1500 m came about as a result of running three laps of a 500 m track, which was commonplace in continental Europe in the 20th century. Middle distance events can begin in one of two ways: a staggered start or a waterfall start. In the 800 meter race, athletes begin in individual lanes that are staggered before

9724-481: The Australian and Canadian runners. In spite of a careful and slow exchange, she caught up with the leaders, crossing the line a tenth of a second before the Australian woman. In hindsight, the Dutch team should have been disqualified because the third runner crossed the line on the inside. Fanny Blankers-Koen won four of the nine women's events at the 1948 Olympics, competing in eleven heats and finals in eight days. She

9867-506: The Games by beating her own 80 m hurdles world record – one of the six world records that she held at that time – some journalists questioned her, suggesting 30 years was too old for a woman to be an athlete. The British athletics team's manager, Jack Crump , opined that she was "too old to make the grade". Many in the Netherlands were concerned for the welfare of the family, saying that she should stay at home to look after her children, not compete in athletics events. Her first competition

10010-604: The Los Angeles Coliseum Relays. In 1950, a controversial episode involving one of Blankers-Koen's competitors occurred. A year earlier, a new Dutch sprint talent, Foekje Dillema had made her breakthrough. In 1950, she broke the national record in the 200 m, and some journalists already dubbed her as the "new Fanny". That year, Dillema was the first subject of the International Association of Athletics Federations's mandatory sex verification policy and

10153-424: The Netherlands at that time (such as Rie Mastenbroek ), and she would have a better chance to qualify for the Olympics in a track event. Her first appearance in the sport was in 1935, aged 17. Her first competition was a disappointment, but in her third race, she set a national record in the 800 m. Fanny Koen soon made the Dutch team, although as a sprinter, not a middle-distance runner. At that time, 800 m

10296-449: The Olympic programme in 1932 . This was extended to the 100 m hurdles at the 1972 Olympics, but it was not until 1984 that a women's 400 m hurdles event took place at the Olympics (having been introduced at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics the previous year). Other distances and heights of hurdles, such as the 200 metres hurdles and low hurdles , were once common but are now held infrequently. The 300 metres hurdles

10439-530: The United States (the Amateur Athletic Union in 1888) and France (the Union des sociétés françaises de sports athlétiques in 1889) put the sport on a formal footing and made international competitions possible. The revival of the Olympic Games at the end of the 19th century marked a new high for track and field. The Olympic athletics programme , comprising track and field events plus a marathon , contained many of

10582-411: The United States in the 1880s as a variation on charity races between firemen , who would hand a red pennant on to teammates every 300 yards. Two very common relay events are the 4×100 metres relay and the 4×400 metres relay . Both entered the Olympic programme at the 1912 Summer Games after a one-off men's medley relay featured in 1908 Olympics. The 4×100 m event is run strictly within

10725-507: The United States, athletics is the official term for this sport with 'track' and 'field' events being subgroups of athletics events. The foot racing events, which include sprints , middle- and long-distance events , racewalking , and hurdling , are won by the athlete who completes it in the least time. The jumping and throwing events are won by those who achieve the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump , triple jump , high jump , and pole vault , while

10868-445: The United States, the term track and field may refer to other athletics events, such as cross country , the marathon , and road running , rather than strictly track-based events. The sport of track and field has prehistoric roots, being among the oldest of sporting competitions , as running, jumping and throwing are natural and universal human physical expressions. The first recorded examples of organized track and field events are

11011-426: The United States, where a number of large meetings (or relay carnivals ) are focused almost solely on relay events. Races with hurdles as obstacles were first popularised in the 19th century in England. The first known event, held in 1830, was a variation of the 100-yard dash that included heavy wooden barriers as obstacles. A competition between the Oxford and Cambridge Athletic Clubs in 1864 refined this, holding

11154-614: The added political element between competitors of the United States, East Germany , and the Soviet Union, during the Cold War , only served to stoke the sport's popularity. The rising commerciality of track and field was also met with developments in sports science , and there were transformations in coaching methods, athlete's diets, training facilities, and sports equipment. The use of performance-enhancing drugs also increased. State-sponsored doping in 1970s and 1980s East Germany , China ,

11297-405: The aim of perfecting their performances, although the aim of combined events athletes is to become proficient in a number of disciplines. Track events involve running on a track over specified distances, and—in the case of the hurdling and steeplechase events—surmounting obstacles. There are also relay races in which teams of athletes run and pass on a baton to their team members at the end of

11440-425: The air. In order to hurdle properly and not simply jump over it, a runner must adjust his or her hips to raise them over the hurdles. This involves the correct use of the lead leg, trail leg, and arm positions. The lead leg is the leg that goes over the hurdle first and should remain fairly straight. Upon crossing over the hurdle barrier, the runner's lead leg snaps down quickly landing roughly 1 metre (3 feet) beyond

11583-402: The body parallel to the ground. This helps with the runner's balance and rhythm throughout the race. In men's hurdles, it is usually necessary to straighten the leg at the top of the flight path over the hurdle, although a partial bend in the knee gains a faster push-off when the athlete hits the ground. The ability to do this depends on the runner's leg length. As soon as the foot has cleared

11726-411: The efficient hurdler spends the minimum amount of time and energy going vertically over the hurdle, thus achieving maximum speed in the horizontal race direction down the track. When approaching the first hurdle, athletes try to avoid stutter stepping (a term used to refer to the cutting of stride length before reaching a hurdle). This cuts the runner's momentum and costs valuable time. Athletes attack

11869-403: The entire race. If a hurdler begins to slow down while three-stepping, they may not be able to make it through all of the hurdles and may have to switch to a four-stepping or five-stepping technique. When three- or five-stepping, a hurdler will use the same lead leg for all of the hurdles. If a hurdler four steps, they will have to switch lead legs at each hurdle. A modern hurdle will fall over if

12012-467: The event. Having started competing in athletics in 1935, she took part in the 1936 Summer Olympics a year later. 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. Apart from her four Olympic titles, she won five European titles and 58 Dutch championships, and set or tied 12 world records –

12155-528: The field of participants. Track and field is one of the oldest sports. In ancient times, it was an event held in conjunction with festivals and sports meets such as the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece . In modern times, the two most prestigious international track and field competitions are the athletics competition at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships . World Athletics , formerly known as

12298-438: The final with great ease. The final, on 6 August, was again held in the pouring rain, but Blankers-Koen completed the inaugural Olympic 200 m for women in 24.4, seven-tenths of a second ahead of runner-up Audrey Williamson – still the largest margin of victory in an Olympic 200 m final. Audrey Patterson placed in third, thereby becoming the first African American woman to win an Olympic medal. The 4 × 100 m final

12441-428: The finish photo clearly showed that not Gardner, but Blankers-Koen had won, although both received the same time (11.2 seconds). In spite of her successes, Blankers-Koen nearly failed to start in the semi-finals of the 200 m, held the day after the hurdles final. Shortly before the semi-final, she broke down because of homesickness. After a long talk with her husband, she decided to run anyway, and qualified for

12584-405: The first biography of Blankers-Koen was published, Een koningin met mannenbenen ( A Queen with Men's Legs ) by journalist Kees Kooman . Through many interviews with relatives, friends and contemporary athletes, it paints a previously unknown picture of her. During her successful years, Dutch and international media portrayed her as the perfect mother (hence her nickname "the flying housewife"), who

12727-441: The first women's world championship competition was held at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships . The first women's Olympic pole vaulting competition occurred in 2000. Track and field contains some of the foremost kinds of throwing sports , and the four major disciplines are the only pure throwing events to feature at the Olympic Games . The genesis of the shot put can be traced to pre-historic competitions with rocks: in

12870-461: The following recognition: The Fanny Blankers-Koen Carrièreprijs was created by NOC*NSF to honour the achievements of Dutch sportspeople and was first given on 9 December 2005. For its inauguration, five people were awarded the prize. Since then, the award has been given to an individual annually. She was among the women included in the 1001 Vrouwen uit de Nederlandse geschiedenis , a dictionary of biography covering 1001 important Dutchwomen. In

13013-492: The foremost sporting competitions of the 1896 Summer Olympics . The Olympics also consolidated the use of metric measurements in international track and field events, both for race distances and for measuring jumps and throws. The Olympic athletics programme greatly expanded over the next decades, and track and field remained among its most prominent contests. The Olympics was the elite competition for track and field, only open to amateur sportsmen . Track and field continued to be

13156-425: The ground, it is critical that the runner remains in a sprint. As soon as his or her lead leg touches down, the trail leg arm drives the rest of the body forward. In the 100 and 110-meter hurdle events, the fastest hurdlers use the three-step technique. This means that three large steps are taken in between all of the hurdles. In order to do this efficiently, hurdlers must take long strides and maintain their speed for

13299-522: The growth in Olympic-style multi-sport events (such as the Commonwealth Games and Pan-American Games ), competitions between international track and field athletes became widespread. From the 1960s onward, the sport gained exposure and commercial appeal through television coverage and the increasing wealth of nations. After over half a century of amateurism, in the late 1970s the amateur status of

13442-485: The growth of women's track and field in East Asia. More women's events were gradually introduced, though it was only towards the end of the century that the athletics programmes approached gender parity. Marking an increasingly inclusive approach to the sport, major track and field competitions for disabled athletes were first introduced at the 1960 Summer Paralympics . With the rise of numerous regional championships, and

13585-464: The hurdle by launching at it from 6–7 feet away (depending on the runner's closing speed); the lead leg extended yet slightly bent (because a straight leg leads to more time over the hurdle) so that the heel just narrowly clears the barrier's height. After launching, the trail leg is tucked in horizontally and flat, close to the side of the hip. The objective is to minimize center-of-gravity deviation from normal sprinting and reduce time spent flying through

13728-420: The hurdle, the knee starts bending again to lessen the effect of a long, slow pendulum. In women's hurdles, the lead leg is usually straight and the center of gravity does not rise relative to a normal running stride. Another way to view it is the “foot-path”: "shortest path up and the shortest path down". The opposite arm reaches farther forward and the elbow travels out to the side and then behind to make room for

13871-399: The hurdle. The trail leg follows the lead leg. The trail leg drives forward at the knee (not swinging, as swinging causes the trunk to straighten up), and pulls through to maintain stride length. An effective trail leg will be parallel to the top of the hurdle and will be as close to the top of the hurdle as possible. As the lead leg is being lifted over the hurdle, the opposite arm should cross

14014-466: The importance of natural training and even-paced running. The 1990s saw the rise of North and East African runners in long-distance events. Kenyans and Ethiopians, in particular, have since remained dominant in these events. Relay races are the only track and field event in which a team of runners directly compete against other teams. Typically, a team is made up of four runners of the same sex. Each runner completes their specified distance (referred to as

14157-416: The inner lanes while members of slower teams must await the baton on outer lanes. In a shuttle hurdle relay , each of four hurdlers on a team runs the opposite direction from the preceding runner. No batons are used. The IAAF keeps world records for five different types of track relays. As with 4×100 m and 4×400 m events, all races comprise teams of four athletes running the same distances, with

14300-424: The last, pentathlon , in 1951 aged 33. She retired from athletics in 1955, after which she became captain of the Dutch female track and field team. In 1999, she was voted "Female Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Her Olympic victories are credited with helping to eliminate the belief that age and motherhood were barriers to success in women's sport. Fanny Koen

14443-404: The length of the race, the first hurdle is 13.72 m (45 ft) from the starting line and the distance between hurdles is 9.14 m (30 ft). In sprint hurdle races for women, the first hurdle is 13 m (42 ft 8 in) from the starting line and the distance between hurdles is 8.5 m (27 ft 11 in). In long hurdle events, whether for men or women, the first hurdle

14586-647: The less commonly contested distances being the 4×200 m , 4×800 m and 4×1500 m relays . Other events include the distance medley relay (comprising legs of 1200, 400, 800, and 1600 metres), which is frequently held in the United States, and a sprint relay, known as the Swedish medley relay , which is popular in Scandinavia and was held at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics programme. Relay events have significant participation in

14729-465: The long jump, the triple jump takes place on a track heading towards a sandpit. Originally, athletes would hop on the same leg twice before jumping into the pit, but this was changed to the current "hop, step and jump" pattern from 1900 onwards. There is some dispute over whether the triple jump was contested in ancient Greece: while some historians claim that a contest of three jumps occurred at Ancient Games, others such as Stephen G. Miller believe this

14872-513: The mid-20th century, but Dick Fosbury overturned tradition by pioneering a backwards and head-first technique in the late 1960s – the Fosbury Flop – which won him the gold at the 1968 Olympics . This technique has become the overwhelming standard for the sport from the 1980s onwards. The standing high jump was contested at the Olympics from 1900 to 1912, but is now relatively uncommon outside of its use as an exercise drill. In terms of sport,

15015-401: The most common throwing events are shot put , javelin , discus , and hammer . There are also "combined events" or "multi events", such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, and decathlon consisting of ten events. In these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with

15158-648: The oldest running race of the modern era. The school also lays claim to the oldest track and field meeting still extant, the Second Spring Meeting first documented in 1840. This featured a series of throwing and jumping events with mock horse races including the Derby Stakes, the Hurdle Race and the Trial Stakes. Runners were entered by "owners" and named as though they were horses. 13 miles (21 km) away and

15301-531: The optimal hurdling technique, one must first learn the proper running techniques. It is important that the runner stays on the balls of his or her feet for the entirety of the race. This makes a fluid movement between each stage of the race. There is a technique that is desirable to accomplish efficient hurdling action during a race. Many runners rely mainly on raw speed, but proper technique and well-planned steps leading up to and between each hurdle can allow an efficient hurdler to outrun faster opponents. Generally,

15444-529: The outbreak of World War II put a stop to the preparations. The Olympics were formally cancelled on 2 May 1940, a week before the Netherlands was invaded . Just prior to the invasion, Koen had become engaged, and on 29 August 1940, she married Jan Blankers (who was fifteen years her senior), thereupon changing her name to Blankers-Koen. Blankers was then a sports journalist and the coach of the Dutch women's athletics team, even though he originally thought women should not compete in sports – not an unusual opinion at

15587-508: The pace quickly, but was unable to shake off Gardner, who kept close until the finish line, and the two finished almost simultaneously. When the British national anthem was played, the crowd in Wembley Stadium cheered, and Blankers-Koen briefly thought she had been beaten. However, the anthem was played in honour of the British royal family, which entered the stadium at that time. Examination of

15730-408: The pole and athletes began clearing the bar with their feet first and twisting so that the stomach faces the bar. Bamboo poles were introduced in the 20th century and a metal box in the runway for planting the pole became standard. Landing mattresses were introduced in the mid-20th century to protect the athletes who were clearing increasingly greater heights. The modern event sees athletes run down

15873-425: The quickest route to the finish. Physiologically, middle-distance events demand that athletes have good aerobic and anaerobic energy producing systems , and also that they have strong endurance . The 1500 m and mile run events have historically been some of the most prestigious track and field events. Swedish rivals Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson broke each other's 1500 m and mile world records on

16016-572: The record. The winter of 1944–45, known as the Hongerwinter (hunger winter), was severe, and there was a great lack of food, especially in the big cities. She gave birth to a daughter, Fanneke, in 1945 and in contrast to her previous post-birth activities she took seven months off from sport and only undertook limited training. The first major international event after the war was the 1946 European Championships , held in Oslo, Norway. The championships were

16159-479: The runner's speed by keeping the runner closer to the ground. There are also shuttle hurdle relay races, although they are rarely run. They are usually only found at track meets that consist entirely of relay races. In a shuttle hurdle relay, each of four hurdlers on a team runs the opposite direction from the preceding runner. The standard races correspond to the standard sprint hurdle races: 4 × 110 m for men and 4 × 100 m for women. The shuttle hurdle relay has

16302-594: The same lane on the running track throughout all sprinting events, with the sole exception of the indoor 400 m. Races up to 100 m are largely focused upon acceleration to an athlete's maximum speed. All sprints beyond this distance increasingly incorporate an element of endurance. Human physiology dictates that a runner's near-top speed cannot be maintained for more than thirty seconds or so because lactic acid builds up once leg muscles begin to suffer oxygen deprivation. Top speed can only be maintained for up to 20 metres. Japanese man Hidekichi Miyazaki

16445-440: The same lane on the track, meaning that the team collectively runs one complete circuit of the track. Teams in a 4×400 m event remain in their own lane until the runner of the second leg passes the first bend, at which point runners can leave their lanes and head towards the inmost part of the circuit. For the second and third baton changeovers, teammates must align themselves in respect of their team position – leading teams take

16588-535: The sport began to be displaced by professionalism . As a result, the Amateur Athletic Union was dissolved in the US and replaced with a non-amateur body focused on the sport of athletics: The Athletics Congress (later USA Track and Field ). The IAAF abandoned amateurism in 1982 and later rebranded itself as the International Association of Athletics Federations. While Western countries were limited to amateurs until

16731-472: The sporting origin of the modern events. Horse racing has its own variant of hurdle racing, with similar principles. The standard sprint or short hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard number of steps to the first hurdle should be 8. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women. Each of these races is run over ten hurdles and they are all Olympic events. The men's 200 meters low hurdles event

16874-402: The stadium to the other. Sprinting events are focused on athletes reaching and sustaining their quickest possible running speed. Three sprinting events are currently held at the Olympics and outdoor World Championships: the 100 , 200 , and 400 metres . These events have their roots in races of imperial measurements that later changed to metric: the 100 metres evolved from the 100-yard dash ,

17017-407: The supporting standards. The majority of jumping events are unaided, although athletes propel themselves vertically with purpose-built sticks in the pole vault . The throwing events involve hurling an implement (such as a heavyweight, javelin or discus) from a set point, with athletes being judged on the distance that the object is thrown. Combined events involve the same group of athletes contesting

17160-547: The team leader of the Dutch athletics team, from the 1958 European Championships to the 1968 Summer Olympics . In 1977, Blankers-Koen's husband Jan died. Some years after his death, she moved back to her old hometown of Hoofddorp . In 1981, the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games , an international athletics event, were established. They are still held annually in Hengelo . Blankers-Koen's last moment of glory came in 1999. At

17303-436: The time. However, his attitude toward female athletes changed after he fell in love with Koen. When Blankers-Koen gave birth to her first child, Jan Junior, in 1942, Dutch media automatically assumed her career would be over. Top female athletes who were married were rare at the time, and it was considered inconceivable that a mother would be an athlete. Blankers-Koen resumed training only weeks after their son's birth. During

17446-460: The titles in the 100 m, 200 m and 80 m hurdles, all with large margins of victory (four-tenths of a second or more), but narrowly missed out on a fourth win in the relay, which was won by the British team. At age 34, she took part in her third Olympics , which were held in Helsinki. Although she was in good physical condition, she was severely hampered by a skin boil . She qualified for

17589-591: 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 due to be held in Helsinki in July 1940. However,

17732-421: The trailing leg. The trailing leg also leads with the knee, but the foot and knee are horizontal, tucked up as tight as possible into the armpit . As soon as the lead leg begins its descent, a strong downward push is exerted to enable the trailing leg's knee to come up under the armpit and in front of the chest. This enables the recovery of some of the energy expended in the flight. As the lead leg touches down to

17875-416: The turn. Runners must remain in their lanes for the first 100 m before cutting in to run as a pack. This rule was introduced to reduce jostling between runners in the early stages of the race. The 1500 meter and longer events typically use a waterfall start, where runners start the race from a standing position along a curved starting line and then immediately cut in towards the innermost track to follow

18018-628: The use of poles for vaulting distances was recorded in Fierljeppen contests in the Frisian area of Europe, and vaulting for height was seen at gymnastics competitions in Germany in the 1770s. One of the earliest recorded pole vault competitions was in Cumbria , England in 1843. The basic rules and technique of the event originated in the United States. The rules required that athletes do not move their hands along

18161-563: The war, domestic competition in sports continued in German-occupied Holland, and Blankers-Koen set six new world records between 1942 and 1944. The first came in 1942, when she improved the world mark in the 80 m hurdles . The following year, she did even better. First, she improved the high jump record by an unequalled 5 cm from 1.66 m to 1.71 m in a specially arranged competition in Amsterdam on 30 May. Then, she tied

18304-415: The winner being the one who jumped farthest. Small weights ( Halteres ) were held in each hand during the jump then swung back and dropped near the end to gain extra momentum and distance. The modern long jump, standardised in England and the United States around 1860, bears resemblance to the ancient event although no weights are used. Athletes sprint along a length of track that leads to a jumping board and

18447-574: Was a Y-chromosome in Dillema's DNA, which indicated she was possibly a genetic mosaic or a true hermaphrodite . Most of the other women on the team at the time suspect it was an attempt by Blankers and Blankers-Koen to eliminate an opponent, although this has never been confirmed. The same year, Blankers-Koen almost repeated her Olympic performance at the European Championships in Brussels. She won

18590-502: Was assured of a place on the Dutch team for the first post-war Olympics , held in London. After her experience in Oslo, 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 (competition rules also prevented an athlete from competing in more than three individual track and field events). Although she displayed her form two months before

18733-622: Was born on 26 April 1918 in Lage Vuursche (near Baarn ) to Arnoldus and Helena Koen. Her father was a government official who competed in the shot put and discus . She had five brothers. As a teenager, she enjoyed tennis , swimming, gymnastics , ice skating , fencing and running . Standing 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), she was a natural athlete. It soon became clear she had a talent for sports, but she could not decide which sport to pick. A swimming coach advised her to concentrate on running because there were already several top swimmers in

18876-450: Was generally considered too physically demanding for female contestants, and had been removed from the Olympic programme after 1928. The following year, her coach and future husband, Jan Blankers , a former Olympic triple-jumper who had participated in the 1928 Olympics , encouraged her to enter the trials for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. At eighteen years old, she was selected to compete in

19019-404: Was held on a track for the 1879 English championships and the 1900 Summer Olympics featured men's 2500 m and 4000 m steeplechase races. The event was held over various distances until the 1920 Summer Olympics marked the rise of the 3000 metres steeplechase as the standard event. The IAAF set the standards of the event in 1954, and the event is held on a 400 m circuit that includes

19162-430: Was held on the final day of the track and field competitions. The Dutch team, consisting of Xenia Stad-de Jong , Netti Witziers-Timmer , Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs and Blankers-Koen, qualified for the final, but just before the final, Blankers-Koen was missing. She had gone out to shop for a raincoat, and arrived just in time for the race. As the last runner, she took over the baton in third place, some five meters behind

19305-466: Was modest about her own achievements. Kooman's book portrays Blankers-Koen in a different light, as a woman who found it difficult to show affection and who was driven by a desire to win. Blankers-Koen had previously written an autobiography in 1949 with help from her husband. Her personal record on the 100 m of 11.5 remained the Amsterdam club record of Phanos for 62 years. It was finally broken in May 2010 by Jamile Samuel . Blankers-Koen received

19448-414: Was more concerned with her next event, the 80 m hurdles. Her chief opponent was Maureen Gardner , also coached by Blankers-Koen's husband and who had equalled Blankers-Koen's world record prior to the Games, and would be running for her home crowd. Both athletes made the final, in which Blankers-Koen got off to a bad start (she would later claim she thought there had been a false start). She picked up

19591-534: Was on the Olympic athletics programme for the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics . These low hurdles events were widely participated in the early part of the 20th century, particularly in North America. However, beyond these two Olympic outings, they never gained a consistent place at international competitions and became increasingly rare after the 1960s. This 10-hurdle race continues to be run in places such as Norway . Other distances are run, particularly indoors but occasionally outdoors. The sprint hurdle race indoors

19734-542: Was placed on 9 May 2007 in Hengelo . Also in 2007, a text was installed on the fence of the sportspark at Olympiaplein in Amsterdam declaring " Hier trainde Fanny Blankers-Koen " ("Fanny Blankers-Koen trained here"). Several locations have been named in her honour, including Blankers-Koen Park in Newington, New South Wales , the location of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Village, a fire station in Amsterdam (Fanny Blankers-Koenkazerne),

19877-551: Was subjected to a "sex test", the details of which were never revealed. As a result, she was expelled by the Royal Dutch Athletics Federation from athletics for the rest of her life and the 200 m record she took from Blankers-Koen was erased. Dillema, who never spoke publicly on the subject, died in December 2007. After the death of Dillema, a forensic test on body cells obtained from her clothing found that there

20020-474: Was the 1919 South American Championships , followed by the European Athletics Championships in 1934. Until the early 1920s, track and field was almost an exclusively male pursuit. Many colleges required women to participate in walking events. Walking was considered to be a primarily female sport. In the late 1800s it was still incredibly rare to find women in the gym, as this was considered

20163-425: Was the 100 m, and she qualified easily for the semi-finals, in which she set the fastest time. The final (2 August) was held on a muddy track and in rainy conditions. Blankers-Koen sped to the finish line in 11.9, easily beating her opponents Dorothy Manley and Shirley Strickland , who took second and third. Fanny Blankers-Koen thereby became the first Dutch athlete to win an Olympic title in athletics, but she

20306-400: Was the first woman to win four Olympic gold medals, and achieved the feat in a single Olympics. Dubbed "the flying housewife", "the flying Dutchmam", and "amazing Fanny" by the international press, she was welcomed back home in Amsterdam by an immense crowd. After a ride through the city, pulled by four white horses, she received a lot of praise and gifts. From the city of Amsterdam, she received

20449-438: Was the world's oldest competitive sprinter, sprinting the 100m race at 105 years old before his death in 2019. The 60 metres is a common indoor event and indoor world championship event. Less-common events include the 50 , 55 , 300 , and 500 metres , which are run in some high school and collegiate competitions in the United States. The 150 metres , though rarely competed, has a star-studded history: Pietro Mennea set

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