Foekje Dillema is a woman after all

23 July 2008

THE NETHERLANDS – DNA tests carried out by a Dutch sports programme have proved that late Dutch athlete Foekje Dillema was a woman after all.

Fifty-eight years ago, Foekje Dillema was permanently suspended by the Royal Dutch Athletics Union because a medical examination allegedly proved her to be a man. The affair caused quite a stir.

Dillema was the main rival of Olympic gold medallist Fanny Blankers-Koen, whose influential husband allegedly wanted to sidetrack Dillema by questioning her gender.

In 2007, she was posthumously rehabilitated by the Royal Dutch Athletics Union.

[Radio Netherlands / Expatica]

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