Portrait
Stanisława Walasiewicz
Born
3 April 1911Wierzchownia, Poland
Died
4 December 1980Cleveland, USA · aged 69
SprinterPoland115th birthday

Stanisława Walasiewicz

An Olympic sprint champion whose intersex body became a tabloid sensation after she was killed in a robbery.

Stanisława Walasiewicz was born in Poland, and as a baby emigrated with her parents to Cleveland, Ohio, where she was known as Stella Walsh. She became one of the fastest women in the world and set numerous world records.

Because she was not yet an American citizen, she competed for Poland. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles she won gold in the 100 metres, and at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin she won silver. In Poland she became a national heroine. Over her long career she won dozens of national titles in the United States and later coached young athletes in Cleveland.

In December 1980, aged 69, she was shot during a robbery in a parking lot in Cleveland while she was shopping. The autopsy revealed that she had intersex characteristics – a combination of chromosomes and genitalia that did not fit the categories of male and female. The press reported on it sensationally, and there were calls to strip her of her titles.

Her medals and records were not withdrawn. Her story is today discussed as an example of how sport and the media deal with intersex people.

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