View source for Fanny Blankers-Koen

== After London ==
Now known all over the world, Blankers-Koen received many offers for endorsements, advertisements, publicity stunts, and the like. Because of the strict [[amateurism]] rules in force at the time, she had to turn most offers down. However, a fortnight after the 1948 Olympics, she entertained 35,000 spectators by equalling her 100 m world record of 10.8 seconds on [[Lansdowne Road]]'s "heavy grass track".<ref>{{Cite news |title=After 151 years, Fanny Blankers-Koen will have some Irish women for company in Aviva stadium press room |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/2023/09/23/after-151-years-fanny-blankers-koen-will-have-some-irish-women-for-company-in-aviva-stadium-press-room/ |access-date=2023-11-16 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>

Also, in 1949, she travelled abroad to promote women's athletics, flying to Australia and the United States.<ref>[http://athletics.com.au/About-Us/Hall-of-Fame/Marjorie-Jackson Marjorie Jackson-Nelson (1931–) AO MBE]. Athletics Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FAy1Aa8tLg Fanny Blankers-Koen In Usa (1949)]. British Pathe. Retrieved 26 April 2018.</ref>

Blankers-Koen had been chosen the 1948 [[Helms Athletic Foundation]] World Trophy Winner for Europe, and in 1949 she travelled to Los Angeles to compete in the Los Angeles Coliseum Relays.<ref>{{cite news|author=Zimmerman, P.|date=21 May 1949|title=Trojans smash relay record|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|id={{ProQuest| }}}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Zimmerman, P.|date=17 August 1952|title=Sportscripts|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest| }}}}
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[[File:06-18-1950 07668 Foekje Dillema en Fanny Blankers-Koen (4158882132).jpg|thumb|Blankers-Koen (right) with [[Foekje Dillema]] in 1950.]]

In 1950, a controversial episode involving one of Blankers-Koen's competitors occurred. A year earlier, a new Dutch sprint talent, [[Foekje Dillema]] had made her breakthrough. In 1950, she broke the national record in the 200&nbsp;m, and some journalists already dubbed her as the "new Fanny". That year, Dillema was the first subject of the International Association of Athletics Federations's mandatory sex verification policy and was subjected to a "sex test", the details of which were never revealed.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |title=Sex and gender issues in competitive sports: investigation of a historical case leads to a new viewpoint|first1=Kaye N|last1=Ballantyne|first2=Manfred|last2=Kayser|first3=J Anton|last3=Grootegoed|date=3 May 2011|journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine|volume=46|issue=8|pages=614–617|doi=10.1136/bjsm.2010.082552|pmid=21540190|pmc=3375582}}</ref> As a result, she was expelled by the Royal Dutch Athletics Federation from athletics for the rest of her life and the 200&nbsp;m record she took from Blankers-Koen was erased.<ref name="auto"/> Dillema, who never spoke publicly on the subject, died in December 2007.<ref name="Een koningin met mannenbenen"/>

After the death of Dillema, a forensic test on body cells obtained from her clothing found that there was a Y-chromosome in Dillema's DNA, which indicated she was possibly a [[mosaic (genetics)|genetic mosaic]] or a [[true hermaphrodite]]. Most of the other women on the team at the time suspect it was an attempt by Blankers and Blankers-Koen to eliminate an opponent, although this has never been confirmed.<ref name="Een koningin met mannenbenen"/>

The same year, Blankers-Koen almost repeated her Olympic performance at the [[1950 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]] in Brussels. She won the titles in the 100&nbsp;m, 200&nbsp;m and 80&nbsp;m hurdles, all with large margins of victory (four-tenths of a second or more), but narrowly missed out on a fourth win in the relay, which was won by the British team.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

At age 34, she took part in her [[1952 Summer Olympics|third Olympics]], which were held in Helsinki.<ref name="bbcobit"/> Although she was in good physical condition, she was severely hampered by a skin [[boil]]. She qualified for the 100&nbsp;m semi-finals, but forfeited a start to save herself for the hurdles race. She reached the final in that event, but after knocking over the second hurdle, she abandoned the race. It was her last major competition. On 7 August 1955, Fanny Blankers-Koen was victorious for the last time, winning the national title in the [[shot put]], her 58th Dutch title.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}