3 lengendary female athletes of the 1920s

Dear readers,

Are you one of those people who likes to take a dip in the cool water during the summer months, go for a brisk bike ride in the countryside, or even compete in a daring tennis match? If you found yourself nodding along to one or more of these points, then my article for this month could be something for you! I would like to introduce you to three fascinating female athletes from the 1920s who broke records in their disciplines and caused a sensation. For those of you who prefer to take it easy in the summer, perhaps you will find yourself inspired to embark on new sporting adventures after reading this! In any case, as always, I hope you enjoy it!

Suzanne Lenglen – the tennis player who broke records and conventions

Suzanne was born in 1899 into a wealthy Parisian family. Her father Charles was enthusiastic about the growing sports movement at the turn of the century. From an early age, Suzanne received lessons in gymnastics, classical dance, swimming, cycling and diabolo. When Charles finally discovered tennis, at that time a sport practised mainly by the English upper class, he was hooked. So much so that he had his own tennis court built on his property and came up with an ambitious plan: Suzanne was to become a professional tennis player. To achieve this, Papa Lenglen spared no expense or effort. He studied the movements of other players and, based on these observations, developed his own training method, which included elements of dance, boxing and athletics. Suzanne is also given exclusively male sparring partners, as her father considers female partners too defensive to challenge her sufficiently. His efforts soon bear fruit, and in 1914 the young Frenchwoman wins her first world championship title at the age of just 15!

The press is enthusiastic, and Suzanne quickly learns to use this to her advantage. While her tennis career continues to gain momentum after the First World War, she works in parallel to market herself as effectively as possible in the role of star athlete. Even at a young age, she is able to express herself eloquently in French and English, writes articles for newspapers and even her own book. Fashion designer Jean Patou creates a sportswear line and dresses her exclusively in it, which also has an impact on her appearances at tournaments. The Goddess, or the Diana of Tennis, as she is now called by the press, likes to enter the court wearing a white fur coat, scandalously paired with a sleeveless sports dress and a knee-length skirt that shows more leg than was previously considered proper. She does not wear a corset underneath, all for the sake of freedom of movement, and her success proves her right. Between 1919 and 1926, she wins 25 Grand Slam titles, takes home 15 Wimbledon victories and 3 Olympic medals, among other achievements. However, Suzanne was unable to maintain this pace for long and has to retire from active sport at the end of the 1920s. She repeatedly struggles with bouts of weakness and asthma (from which she has suffered since childhood). Her heavy drinking and dissolute lifestyle do nothing to improve her condition. In 1938, the Goddess dies unexpectedly of leukaemia* at the age of only 39.

Alfonsina Strada – the rebel on the racing bike makes history

The life of Italian Alfonsina Strada, née Morini, could not be more different from that of Suzanne Lenglen. Born in 1891 in rural Castelfranco Emilia, she grew up in extremely modest circumstances in a large family. Her father was a day labourer, her mother a wet nurse, and everyday life was marked by hard work, illness and deprivation. Many of her siblings and foster children did not reach adulthood. Alfonsina was only able to attend school for two years, after which she had to do an apprenticeship as a seamstress to earn money for her family. When her father came home one day with an old, rickety bicycle that he had bought in the hope of finding work further afield, Alfonsina was captivated. For her, the bicycle embodies freedom and independence. Despite being forbidden to do so, she sneaks out of the house at night and teaches herself to ride. After some time, Alfonsina even manages to persuade her father to let her have the bicycle so that she can take a job as a seamstress in Bologna, as he himself has not succeeded in improving the family's financial situation.

In Bologna's Montagnola Park, she comes into contact with racing cyclists for the first time as they do their laps, and soon she spends her lunch breaks training there, too. As cycle racing is very popular in Italy and there is usually money or food to be won, Alfonsina starts taking part in such races while still a teenager, much to the displeasure of the other cyclists, the audience and her family. This was because cycling was considered a man's sport, according to the prevailing consensus. Alfonsina also cut her long hair short at an early age and wore shorts when she raced, which was a real scandal at the beginning of the 20th century! She quickly earns nicknames such as The Madwoman and The Devil in a Skirt, spectators call her a tramp, and her fellow competitors try to distrub her during races. But Alfonsina remains undeterred and repeatedly defeats her male competitors. In 1915, she marries the engraver Luigi Strada, who gives her a bicycle as a wedding gift and supports her in her plan to become a professional cyclist. In the following years, she competes in races in Bologna and Paris, takes part in the Giro de Lombardia twice and sets several speed records. However, her greatest triumph is her participation in the world-famous Giro d'Italia in 1924. The otherwise very exclusive race was opened up to other interested parties on a one-off basis that year, as the cycling stars of the time had refused to compete in protest at low pay. Alfonsina does not miss this opportunity and, on 10 May, she starts the race together with 89 other cyclists, covering 3,613 kilometres in 12 stages. Despite extreme physical exertion, poor road and weather conditions, crashes and injuries, Alfonsina manages to finish the Giro as the first and so far only woman ever, albeit outside the time limit, but still ahead of more than 50 male competitors who had dropped out early. Her achievement is celebrated as a sensation in the newspapers, and Alfonsina finally receives the recognition she deserves among her cycling colleagues. The Queen of the Pedal (as she is often called) spends her later years running a bicycle shop in Milan. She dies of a heart attack in 1959 at the age of 68.

Gertrude Ederle – the first woman to swim across the English Channel

The third of six children born to German immigrants, Gertrude ‘Trudy’ Ederle is born in New York City in 1905. Her parents run a butcher's shop specialising in German delicacies so successfully that the family can afford a holiday home in Atlantic Heights, New Jersey, right by the sea. The three daughters in particular love the water and learn to swim at an early age, which was by no means the norm at the time. However, early swimming pioneers such as the Australian Annette Kellerman spark a growing interest in swimming among women and girls. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kellerman popularised a figure-hugging one-piece swimsuit, which was initially considered scandalous and even led to arrests and court cases. However, this swimsuit was a minor revolution, as it allowed much more freedom of movement than the swimwear that had been common before, which consisted of woollen stockings and long skirts. The founding of the Women's Swimming Association in 1917 inspired even more women and girls to take up swimming, and soon swimming competitions for women were being held on a regular basis. The Ederle sisters also become members of the WSA and take part in these competitions. Trudy in particular excelles here, achieving her first competitive successes at the age of 14. The relatively new crawl style taught to her by her coach Louis de Breda Handley, a former professional swimmer and Olympic champion, proves to be a real advantage. She becomes so good that she competes in the 1924 Olympic Games herself and brings home several medals.

But soon, just competing in championships is no longer enough for Trudy. She has a new ambitious dream: to be the first woman to swim across the English Channel. No easy feat, because since Matthew Webb first succeeded in 1875, only a few others have managed it. However, this fact and the difficult weather conditions, with low water temperatures that rarely exceed 17 degrees even in summer, do not deter Trudy, and so she makes her first attempt just one year later, attracting a great deal of attention from the press and spectators. However, she is forced to abandon the attempt after a few hours. Her coach, who had himself tried unsuccessfully to swim across the English Channel 22 times, had her pulled out of the water by helpers against her will, as he suspected she was suffering from exhaustion.

After overcoming her disappointment at her first failed attempt, Trudy decides to try again a year later, this time with a different coach and together with her sister, who is her biggest supporter. On 6 August 1926 at 7:09 a.m., Trudy enters the water. She has rubbed her body with a thick layer of olive oil, lanolin and lard to protect herself from dehydration, cold and jellyfish. Her sister and father accompany her in the dinghy, repeatedly holding up posters with words of encouragement and playing her favourite songs on the gramophone. The pleasant weather at the start soon changes, becoming rainy, stormy and foggy, forcing her to take a longer route across the Channel to avoid dangerous cliffs. Along the way, she is also hampered by flotsam, rubbish and jellyfish, but when her concerned family asks her if she wants to stop, she simply replies, ‘What for?’ – a phrase that will make her famous. At 9:40 p.m., she finally reaches the other side and is greeted by a large cheering crowd. It took her 14 hours and 31 minutes to complete the crossing, more than two hours faster than the fastest man before her. When she returns to New York City a few weeks later after a major tour of Europe, a huge parade awaits her in her honour. Over two million people come to celebrate the Queen of the Waves.

After her great triumph, Trudy receives many honours and awards, and her story is even made into a film in 1927, but lasting success eludes her. Soon another woman crosses the English Channel (the first mother to do so), and her hearing continues to deteriorate, a problem she has had since childhood. She subsequently withdraws from public life and only participates in swimming events sporadically. Despite several further personal setbacks, Trudy manages to remain a positive person and always looks back on her unusual life with gratitude. She dies at the ripe old age of 98.

Dear audience,

I hope you enjoyed the stories of these three fascinating athletes, who achieved truly extraordinary things for their time, whether on the tennis court, on the bicycle or in the water. Perhaps you now feel like taking up a sport yourself. If so, I wish you lots of fun!

Yours, Marleen Tigersee

* other sources cite pernicious anaemia as the cause of death, but this has not yet been conclusively clarified.

Literature:

Jean-Christophe Piffaut: Et la femme créa le Tennis moderne, Paris 2023

Simona Baldelli: Die Rebellion der Alfonsina Strada, Köln 2022 (German translation, original is written in Italian)

Anne-Kathrin Kilg-Meyer: Getrude Trudy Ederle, Eine Schwimmerin verändert die Welt, Kellinghusen 2020