Foekje Dillema

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Foekje Dillema athletics

Foekje Dillema
Foekje Dillema, 1949

nation NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands
birthday September 18, 1926
place of birth Burum ,  Netherlands
job Household helper
date of death December 5, 2007
Place of death Kollum , Netherlands
Career
discipline sprint
Trainer Hans Huizinga
End of career 1950

Foekje Dillema (born September 18, 1926 in Burum , † December 5, 2007 in Kollum ) was a Dutch athlete , known for her strong sprints . In her only short active time, she broke Fanny Blankers-Koen's record in the discipline of the 200-meter run and is also known as “Friesland's greatest runner”.

Because Dillema refused to undergo a gender test that is mandatory according to the IAAF , the Dutch athletics association KNAU banned her for life. After her death, DNA tests showed that Dillema had an imbalance in the sex chromosomes. This is considered an indication of intersexuality . Dillema had both male and female sexual characteristics.

Life

Foekje Dillema was born on September 18, 1926 as the third daughter of a family with a total of eight children and grew up in simple circumstances. Her father worked as a casual worker, u. a. in dyke construction. The grandfather, with whom the entire family lived, was a fuel dealer. In her childhood she was considered a beautiful girl. During puberty, when she did not menstruate, but instead began to grow a beard and break her voice, she was sometimes subjected to mockery. She worked as a domestic help for various families; an activity to which she remained committed to old age.

discovery

In spring 1948, at the age of 21, Dillema became a member of the gymnastics club Vlugheid en Kracht in Kollum (V&K Kollum, which existed from 1886 to 1960, roughly translated as: speed and strength). The athlete was noticed there because she was a particularly fast and powerful runner. “One evening [...] we played a game [in the club] where you had to run around bars. The trainer said: 'Child, you have to go to athletics' “In the spring of 1948, Dillema ran her first race in the Frisian village of Buitenpost and won by far. On June 13, 1948, she made her official athletic debut. She ran the 100 meters in 12.8 seconds and in the final in 13 seconds. A month later she managed 11.9 seconds and thus posed a serious threat to the then very popular athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen, who held the record with 11.7 seconds. The success of the Dutch delegation at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London strengthened her decision to become a professional athlete. That summer she became a member of the Vitesse athletics club in Leeuwarden (now AV Lionitas ).

International competitions

Foekje Dillema (Amsterdam, August 1949)

Dillema got her chance in the summer of 1949 and silvered it in the Feyenoord Stadium against an Italian participant and triumphed over the great favorite Sylvia Cheeseman . At first she was the last runner in the field of the 4-by-100-meter relay and ultimately turned her hopeless deficit into a victory. After this spectacular overtaking race, 20,000 spectators enthusiastically climbed onto the benches. The Friesian was compared to a "steamroller" that rolled over her competition and they awarded her the honorary title "Athlete of the match". Fanny Blankers-Koen, who had previously won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1948, was absent, she did not want to "meet a man in disguise", as she put it. She also referred to the inferior Cheeseman as a "man" back then and still today.

suspension

Foekje Dillema (relay in Groningen on July 12, 1950)

In order to be able to take part in the European Athletics Championships in Brussels in 1950 , she should undergo a sex test that the IAAF made mandatory for all participating athletes. On July 8, 1950, the Dutch athletes underwent a gynecological examination at HMC Westeinde Hospital ( The Hague ). However, Dillema refused to take part. The minutes of the KNAU board meeting on the same day read: “F. Dillema canceled the investigation. Tonnis de Vries should contact you if necessary ”. On July 13, 1950, Dillema was to travel to France with the Dutch team to compete in an international competition. She received a telegram from the executive committee too late before she left Burum. At Amsterdam Central Station , she was told that she was suspended for life because - in Dillema's words - "was not a girl". Her record of 24.1 seconds has been deleted from the list of Dutch athletics records for 200 meters. According to her biographer, the Dutch sports historian Max Dohle, the reason for the suspension was her refusal to take an exam.

Sorry from KNAU

Shortly after her death, KNAU recognized Dillemas' personal record in the 200-meter run again. In a personal conversation with Dillema's nephew, the KNAU, represented by its director Rien van Haperen, apologized for the way in which Dillema was left to its fate after the suspension.

DNA examination

On July 20, 2008 VPRO and NPO 1 broadcast a documentary about Foekje Dillema in the magazine Andere Tijden Sport . Her DNA , obtained from fallen skin cells in her clothing, was examined with the consent of her next of kin in the Forensic Molecular Biology Department of the University Clinic of the Erasmus University Rotterdam . A male Y chromosome was detected in the sample . Another special feature was that the ratio of the X chromosomes to the Y chromosomes varied between 1: 1 and 1: 4 according to the findings of the investigating biologist Anton Grootegoed. Grootgoed concluded that Dillema was very much a woman. However, this very rare genetic combination is one of the intersex traits. Dillema may have had small internal, sterile testicles that, for a woman, produced a lot of testosterone. As a result, Dillema got a deep voice, slight beard growth, and increased muscle mass. Dillema suffered from hyperandrogenemia .

background

In a scientific publication on Ballantyne's research, the authors state that there was an evolution of intersexuality in sexual becoming. According to the authors, Dillema was a genetic mosaic with 46 XX chromosomes (female genotype) and 46 XY chromosomes (male genotype). After fertilization with a Y chromosome, incomplete cell divisions ( non-disjunction ) would first form a cell XXY and, if the cell divides later, cells with two X chromosomes and cells with XY chromosomes. Both cell types then appear side by side throughout the body. The distribution of XX and XY cells in the gonad of an embryo determines the formation of female or male gonads ( ovaries or testes ). When there are many XX cells, the gonads develop into ovaries. When there are many XY cells, testes develop.

biography

Dillema's biographer Max Dohle suspects that the young sportswoman knew about her intersexuality and therefore refused the investigation. Both the Stichting Atletiekerfgoed , a foundation for Dutch sports history, and Max Dohle conclude that Dillema was suspended because the athletics association (rightly) suspected that she had both male and female sexual characteristics. The Atletiek Unie therefore called it a Kween , the Dutch word for hermaphrodite , a term that was common at the time, but now politically incorrect for people , for an inconsistent gender. This assumption proved correct on the basis of the posthumous examination that took place shortly afterwards. After the suspension, Dillema was - according to her family in the utmost secrecy - at the University Hospital of Groningen "helped with her glands" ("helped aan hair klieren"). It can be assumed that the rudimentary testicles were removed here ( castration ).

The practice of gender verification was first made mandatory by the IAAF in the 1950s in order to expose suspicious female athletes, primarily from the Eastern Bloc, who were suspected of being actually male and thus would have a competitive advantage in women's sports. Dozens of women athletes were suspended between 1950 and 2015. Dillema was the first victim of these new tests. In 1968 the IOC also introduced these checks. However, these sex tests have been considered degrading by many, so the guidelines were revised by the IAAF and the IOC in 2011. According to this, female athletes who are suspected of having a competitive advantage over other women due to the presence of an androgen value that is typical for men must undergo androgen-lowering treatment if they want to continue to take part in competitions among women. In May 2011 the IAAF had already introduced corresponding rules. The reason for this was the suspension of the South African runner over 800 meters Caster Semenya .

In June 2017, the IAAF presented a study that showed that women only benefit from higher testosterone levels over medium distances. This study showed that a hyperandrogenic runner like Foekje Dillema had no advantage on the 200 meters.

After her death

Monument to Foekje Dillema

After the suspension, Dillema resumed her work as a domestic help and gave gymnastics classes in Burum on a voluntary basis. She continued to refuse to speak openly about the matter of her lock. She died on December 5, 2007 and was buried three days later in Burum. In August 2011, a gold and a bronze medal from Dillema were stolen.

In 2014 a memorial was erected for them in Oranjewoud . The sculpture by Ids Willemsma shows two running legs made of Corten steel . The work of art was moved to Leeuwarden in 2018 (Sportpark Nijlân). In Burum itself, a monument to Foekje Dillema was also unveiled on May 31, 2014: an unadorned wayside shrine with a green lotus flower in the middle (made by the artist Jan Smeets).

Personal best

discipline power date place
100 m 12.1 s August 21, 1949 London
200 m 24.1 s (ex-NR) June 18, 1950 Amsterdam

Ranking list

100 m

  • 1949: silverOlympic Day in Amsterdam - 12.2 s
  • 1949: goldInternational match England-France-Netherlands - 12.1 p

200 m

  • 1948: Fourth Nederlands Kampioenschap (NK) in Eindhoven
  • 1949: goldInternational match Netherlands-Italy - 24.8 p
  • 1949: goldInternational match England-France-Netherlands - 24.6 p
  • 1950: goldOlympic Day in Amsterdam - 24.1 s (NR)

4 × 100 m

  • 1949: goldNK relay in Rotterdam - 51.1 s (with Vitesse)
  • 1949: goldInterl. Netherlands-Italy - 49.2 p

Relay race 200-100-80-60 m

  • 1949: silverNK relay in Rotterdam - 56.1 s (with Vitesse)

Literature and other sources

  • Aad Heere and Bart Kappenburg: 1870 - 2000, 130 jaar atletiek in Nederland , Groenevelt bv, Landgraaf 2000, ISBN | 90 90 12867 0
  • Gert Jan van den Bemd: Dillema-mysterie ontrafeld , Erasmus MC - Monitor, jrg. 2008, No. 4, p. 5
  • Max Dohle: KNAU in 1950: “Foekje is een kween.” Amsterdam, De Sportwereld, Jrg. 2008 No. 50-51, p. 29ff.
  • H. Dries: Historie van de Nederlandse BAANrecords van 16-10-1886 to 31-10-2013 Dutch Athletic Federation , 2014

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dillema-monument op de juiste plek (Dillema monument in the right place) published in the Leeuwarder Courant on June 1, 2018 (Dutch)
  2. ↑ a b c “Ze zeggen dat ik geen meid ben” (“They say I'm not a girl”). Max Dohle's ban on Foekje Dillema for the Vereniging voor Gendergeschiedenis (2018, in Dutch)
  3. ↑ a b Kees Kooman: Fanny Blankers-Koen - De huisvrouw die kon viegen , De Boekenmakers ISBN 978-94-91426-07-0
  4. ↑ a b c Max Dohle: Het verwoeste leven van Foekje Dillema: de grootste tragedie uit de Nederlandse sportgeschiedenis (The destroyed life of […]: The greatest tragedy in Dutch sports history) De Arbeiderspers , 2008 ISBN 9789029566872
  5. ↑ a b c Kees Kooman Een koningin met mannenbenen ("A Queen with Male Legs ") LJ Veen Atlas Verlag, Amsterdam 2003, ISBN 90 204 0820 8
  6. ↑ Information on a Dutch memorial page
  7. ↑ a b Other Tijden Sport - Het mysterie Foekje Dillema , documentary film from 2008 on NPO1, from 12:30 pm
  8. ↑ Shocking appearance of Athletiek Unie , article from De Waarheid from July 14, 1950
  9. ↑ Postuum eerherstel Foekje Dillema , NOS teletext December 13 of 2007.
  10. ↑ Eerherstel atletiekunie voor Foekje Dillema , NRC Handelsblad , December 14, 2007 ( paid item )
  11. ↑ Other Tijden Sport, Foekje Dillema
  12. ↑ Foekje was een vrouw , Het Parool of July 21, 2008
  13. ↑ KN Ballantyne, M. Kayser, JA Grootegoed from May 2011, "Sex and gender issues in competitive sports: investigation of a historical case leads to a new viewpoint", British Journal of Sports Medicine , ( bjsm.bmj.com )
  14. ↑ Anja Herrlitz: IAAF sets gender rule. In: Athletics. April 12, 2011
  15. ^ Amended IAAF Rules and new & updated IAAF Regulations - In Force as of 1 May 2011. In: IAAF.org. May 1, 2011 (English / French)
  16. ↑ Lukas Brems: Caster Semenya: It's about more than testosterone In: Zeit-Online, October 23, 2018
  17. ↑ IAAF publiceert nieuw onderzoek naar testosteronwaarden , FloTrack, 6 July 2017
  18. ↑ Dillema, Foekje
  19. ↑ Foekje Dillema IsGeschiedenis, website on historical events from the Netherlands and Flanders
  20. ^ Album Amicorum: Monument to Foekje Dillema
  21. ↑ Unveiling of the work of art Foekje Dillema on the website of the club's successor Vitesse : AV Lionitas
  22. ↑ Artwork ter nagedachtenis aan Foekje Dillema onthuld in nieuwsuitkollum.nl on May 31, 2014

Web links

Commons : Foekje Dillema  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Dillema, Foekje
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch sprinter
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Burum (Netherlands) , West Frisia , Netherlands
DATE OF DEATH December 5, 2007
Place of death Kollum , West Frisia, Netherlands