BLANKERS-KOEN, FANNY

born April 26, 1918, Amsterdam, Neth. in full Francina Blankers-koen versatile Dutch track-and-field athlete who was the first woman to win four gold medals in a single Olympics. She also set world records in seven events. Blankers-Koen first achieved success as a teenager, winning a Dutch national championship in the 800-metre run in 1935; the next year, at 17, she placed sixth in the high jump and competed in the 4 100-metre relay at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Her time of 11.0 seconds in the 100-yard dash in Amsterdam in 1938 tied a world record. She married her coach, Jan Blankers, in 1940, giving birth to a son the following year. In 1942 and 1943 she set world records in the 80-metre hurdles (11.0 seconds), high jump (1.71 m [5 feet 7 1/4 inches]), and long jump (6.25 m [20 feet 6 1/4 inches]). Olympic rules limited Blankers-Koen to participating in only three individual events at the 1948 Olympics in London, and despite her jumping records, track events were her preference. She won the 100- and 200-metre sprints and the 80-metre hurdles and anchored the winning Dutch team in its narrow 4 100-metre victory. She also set records of 10.8 seconds in the 100-yard dash (Amsterdam, 1948) and 24.2 seconds in the 220-yard dash (Brescia, Italy, 1950). In 1951, after the pentathlon had been modified to consist of the shot put, high jump, 200-metre sprint, 80-metre hurdles, and long jump, Blankers-Koen set the first modern pentathlon record, with 4,692 points. In 1952 she failed to earn a medal in her final Olympic appearance in Helsinki.