Olympic Track & Field Codexery

Fanny Blankers-Koen

The Flying Housewife who won four gold medals at the 1948 Olympics.

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The Dutch track and field athlete Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen achieved four gold medals during the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London.[1] Her gold medal performances are thought to have challenged and reduced the notion that older age and motherhood prevented women from succeeding in sports.[1]

Key facts and history

On 29 August 1940, she married Jan Blankers, a sports journalist and coach of the Dutch women's athletics team.[2] Arnoldus and Helena Koen had a daughter named Fanny Koen, who was born on 26 April 1918 in Lage Vuursche.[3] She passed away on 25 January 2004 in Hoofddorp at 85 years of age.[4]

What the cited sources add

A Guardian article reports that Blankers-Koen's father, Arnold Koen, was a farmer who competed in the shot and discus.[5] The same source notes that she set her first world record, 11 seconds for the 100 yards, in 1938.[5] A BBC News article reports that Blankers-Koen set 20 world records during her career.[6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Fanny Blankers-Koen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bagchi, "50 stunning Olympic moments No10: Fanny Blankers-Koen wins four golds", The Guardian, 18 January 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Fanny Blankers-Koen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kooman, Kees, "Een koningin met mannenbenen", L.J. Veen, 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Fanny Blankers-Koen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Obituary", The Independent, 27 January 2004; "Obituary", The Independent, 27 January 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Fanny Blankers-Koen" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fanny Blankers-Koen, "Fanny Blankers-Koen", The Observer, 3 February 2002; Britannica Editors. (2026, January 21). Fanny Blankers-Koen. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fanny-Blankers-Koen (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Bagchi, "50 stunning Olympic moments No10: Fanny Blankers-Koen wins four golds", The Guardian, 18 January 2012. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  6. Trickett, "Winner against all odds", BBC News Online, 25 January 2004. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fanny Blankers-Koen (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Shot put

Ranked in

Tallest Olympic athletes

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year did Fanny Blankers-Koen die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2004.

2. In which place was Fanny Blankers-Koen born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Lage Vuursche, Netherlands.

3. In what year was Fanny Blankers-Koen born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1918.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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