THE ULTIMATE
On this day, April 26th 1918, Olympic athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen was born in the Netherlands.
Fanny became the first female athlete to win 4 Olympic Gold medals in a single Olympic Games at the 1948 Olympics in London - being the most successful athlete at the event. Gold - 100m Gold - 200m Gold - 80m Hurdles Gold - 4 X 100m relay Twice she almost failed to start, prior to the 200m final she broke down, homesickness, pressure of competing, and attacks that as a woman and mother that she shouldn't be competing. Whilst, before the relay she had gone to buy a raincoat, only just making the start. At the time she was 30 years old, mother of two, and it was revealed after the event she was also pregnant. She had also participated in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Although, Fanny specialised in track events at the Olympics due to restrictions as to how many events she could enter, she also particpated in the long jump and high jump, setting world records in these as well! The media nicknamed her 'The Flying Housewife', 'The Flying Dutchmam' and 'Amazing Fanny'. In 1999 the IAAF voted her the 'Female Athlete of the Century'.
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