Fanny Blankers-Koen

THE FLYING HOUSEWIFE

Fanny Blankers-Koen was a Dutch athlete, the winner of four gold medals at the 1948 Olympic Games. This was exceptional, as she had already been married with children for years. In her day, the norm was for women to retire from professional sport if they became pregnant. But Blankers-Koen resumed training two weeks after giving birth. The world was amazed by her boldness.

“Of course she will be darning Jan Blankers’s socks again after her vacation. Because she knows well enough that there are more important things in life than running the 80 metre hurdles in 11,2 seconds. Even more important things than four gold medals.”

—

Dutch national newspaper De Volkskrant after the 1948 Olympics.

In the 1940s the sporting world was dominated by men. The idea that mothers were not suited to participate in sport was widespread. This was, of course, interwoven with the broader notion within society that women should be housewives.

But Fanny Blankers-Koen was stubborn; she saw no alternative to continuing her sporting dream. She shows us that we can change society  just by being ourselves. Blankers-Koen had her own dreams and goals, but changed society’s perception of women along the way. The world needed female role models, and she became one  ‘simply’ by persevering in her passion.

The status quo in the time of Fanny Blankers-Koen

At Blankers-Koen’s first Olympic games (1936), only 331 women competed, along with 3632 men.

Women were banned from marathons and some other sports, because according to some doctors the exertion would cause their uterus to fall out.

In the Netherlands women were spending 60 to 70 hours a week, on average, on household chores.

“My parents thought it wasn’t necessary for me to go to work, they could use me at home. I found that convenient; that way I could train in the afternoon.”

– Fanny Blankers-Koen

The present

ELISABETA RIZEA

Elisabeta Rizea fought against the communist regime from the mountains. (Romania, 1940s - 1980s)