When Helen Stephens was fifteen years old, a track coach saw her playing pickup basketball and asked her to run a time trial in the school driveway. In that first-ever 50-yard dash, Stephens tied the world record. Only a year later at the 1936 Olympics, she would win two gold medals and her record would stand for twenty-four years.
Meet this “forgotten legend” of US track with Fast Girls author Elise Hooper.
Helen Stephens’ world-record breaking time for the 100m at the 1936 Olympics was 11.5 seconds. She would never lose a race in her lifetime.
public domain
public domain
public domain
Coverage of the Women’s 400 Relay from the 1936 Games.
A native New Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online news outlets before getting a MA and teaching high-school literature and history. She now lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters and is the author of The Other Alcott, Learning to See, and Fast Girls.
Music featured in this episode included
“Canal Street Blues”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“Best Horizon, Gone”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“Breathing Planet”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“Olympische Hymne”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“Fresh Fallen Snow”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“Run Until Your Wings Grow”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“To Be a Ball of Light”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
“Bach Cello Suite Prelude”
Episode 70 Helen Stephens
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