Didrikson's Records. American athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson gained worldwide fame when she won three medals at the 1932 Olympic Games in track-and-field events, setting world records in two events. Didrikson's excellence in a diverse range of sports led to her being called "the athletic phenomenon of all time." . Babe Didrikson Does It All Mildred "Babe" Didrikson excelled in virtually anything she tried. She starred in basketball, earned a blue ribbon at the Texas State Fair for her sewing, and even pitched in a major league baseball exhibition game. She took up golf as an adult and developed into one of the finest golfers ever. She once won--by herself--the track-and-field national team championship, winning six events and defeating entire university and amateur squads. Didrikson earned the nickname Babe because she could hit a baseball like Babe Ruth. "Before I was even in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up," she once said, according to Great Moments in American Sports. "My goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever lived." Didrikson's performance at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California, best showcased her all-around talents. Competing in the hurdles, high jump, and javelin, events requiring diverse skills, she won two gold medals and a silver medal. In the process, she set two world records. Her triumph in the Olympics thrust her into the limelight, established her among the finest all-around athletes ever, and shattered myths about women and athletics. "Is there anything you don't play?" a writer asked her after the Olympics, according to Great Moments in American Sports. "Yeah," she responded. "Dolls." Didrikson qualified for the Olympics by competing in the 1932 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) track-and-field championships at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Didrikson entered eight of the ten events, all held in the same afternoon. Didrikson won the 80-meter hurdles, javelin, shot put, long jump, and baseball throw. She tied for first in the high jump. She set world records in the hurdles, javelin, and high jump. She finished fourth in the discus to earn a total of 30 points, 8 points better than the second-place University of Illinois, which had 22 participants. Didrikson's performance qualified her for all five individual track-and-field Olympic events. Olympic officials, however, allowed her to participate in only three. Upset that she couldn't enter more events, she nevertheless arrived at the Los Angeles games confident. "I am out to beat everybody in sight, and that's just what I'm going to do," she told reporters, according to Who's Who in Sports Champions. The 1932 Olympic Games were only the second in which women's participation was widespread. Women had competed in the Olympics for years, but until 1928, Olympic competition for women was limited to a handful of events. In 1932 there were six track-and-field events for women: the 100 meters, 80-meter hurdles, javelin, discus, high jump, and the 4 x 100-meter relay. The javelin was Didrikson's first event, and she registered a throw of 143 ft 4 in (43.68 m) to win the gold medal. She later said the javelin slipped from her hand. Observers remarked on its low trajectory. "It might just as well have traveled ten feet more but for the fact that she threw the wand much after the manner of a catcher pegging to second base," the Los Angeles Times reported. "The heave had absolutely no elevation, and sailed practically in a straight line from the time it left Miss Didrikson's mighty right arm until it dug its way into the green turf of the Olympic Stadium." The 80-meter hurdles were next, and Didrikson approached the event certain that she would establish a world record. She set the world record of 11.8 seconds in her first qualifying heat. The final was a very close race. Didrikson jumped to a false start. On the restart, Violet Webb of Great Britain cleared the first hurdle with a step on Didrikson. Didrikson, however, passed her on the ensuing hurdles. She and fellow American Evelyne Hall cleared the final hurdle neck and neck. The New York Times said it took a "magnificent closing burst" for Didrikson to edge Hall by 5 cm (2 in) at the tape. Both runners were credited with a world-record time of 11.7 seconds, and three other runners finished within 0.2 seconds of that time. The high jump was also closely contested. Didrikson and Jean Shiley tied for first place at the AAU event and were the two best jumpers in the Olympics. Both cleared 5 ft 5?in (1.657 m) but failed at 5 ft 6 in. Officials lowered the bar to 5 ft 5? in and Didrikson and Shiley both made the jump. But after a lengthy debate the officials ruled that Didrikson's technique, in which her head cleared before her body, was illegal. They awarded the gold medal to Shiley and the silver medal to Didrikson. Both Didrikson and Shiley, however, were credited with a world-record jump. The American public received Didrikson with great fanfare. Never before had a woman achieved such athletic success or shown such remarkable physical ability. Her versatility warranted comparisons with Jim Thorpe, a great football player who had won the Olympic decathlon and pentathlon 20 years earlier. Grantland Rice, the famed sportswriter, joined her in one of her first rounds of golf. After she beat him, Rice called Didrikson "without any question the athletic phenomenon of all time, man or woman." Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
