WHEN BLANKERS-KOEN CAME TO TOWN ...
TOM HURST PIECES TOGETHER HISTORICAL DETAILS OF THE FIRST VISIT TO BRITAIN BY ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST EVER FEMALE ATHLETES
NOSTALGIA
EIGHTY years ago saw the appearance on these shores for the first time of the person who would go on to become one of the world’s greatest athletes.
It was unusual for internationals to be held so far north in England in those days, but Blackpool had something of a exceptional year in 1936 within athletics, for at the end of March, the International Cross Country Championships (the precursor to the IAAF-sanctioned World Cross Country Championships), were held on land by Squires Gate, near Blackpool’s airport. England won both the individual and team titles that afternoon.
“THE CONTEST LASTED FOUR-ANDA-HALF HOURS AND FINISHED AT 7.30PM AND BECAME A TEST OF ENDURANCE FOR ALL INVOLVED. SPECTATORS DWINDLED FROM SOME 2000 TO JUST A COUPLE OF HUNDRED BY THE END”
Twelve years before she won four golds at the 1948 Olympics, Fanny Blankers-Koen paid a little-known visit to the seaside town of Blackpool
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The year of 1936 was an eventful both internationally and nationally: it was the year of three British kings, George V passed away in January and Edward VIII abdicated in December before he was crowned, which meant his younger brother, Albert, became George VI. General strikes in France forced the resignation of Léon Blum, the prime minister. Queen Mary made its maiden voyage. The novel Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell was published in the USA. US sports legend Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut.
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