Helen Stephens' biographer shares insight to the Olympian's life

Sharon Kinney Hanson, author of "The Life of Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash," talks to William Woods University students and members of the public about Helen Stephens on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014, inside the school's library auditorium.
Sharon Kinney Hanson, author of "The Life of Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash," talks to William Woods University students and members of the public about Helen Stephens on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014, inside the school's library auditorium.

Sharon Kinney Hanson, author of "The Life of Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash," walked into the William Woods University's library auditorium Thursday night hoping to inspire the students and community members with the story of the two-time Olympic gold winner.

Hanson provided details of Stephens' life as a teenage track and field prodigy, an Olympic standout and advocate for women.

"I'm making her into a giant, but that's really how I see her," Hanson said at one point in her lecture.

Stephens seemed like a giant to others, standing at about six feet tall. She grew up poor on a Fulton farm, Hanson said, and couldn't afford to buy a track suit or shoes for her first major track and field event. Stephens, then a teenager, borrowed the athletic gear from two men at Westminster College.

With her rented gear, Stephens was prepared for the 1935 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship in St. Louis. There she faced off against Stella Walsh, who would later compete in the Olympics for Poland, and the St. Louis-favorite Harriet Bland.

Stephens, a country girl from Fulton, sped past her two main competitors and set a U.S. record in the 50-meter dash of 6.6 seconds.

Hanson said a reporter yelled to Stephens: "Do you know what you've just done?"

"I think I won," Stephens replied.

After high school, Stephens' father wanted her to work in a shoe factory, but she had other plans. Stephens earned a scholarship to William Woods University - a place she loved since her admission.

In 1936, Stephens traveled to Berlin to compete in the Olympic games - a dream come true for Stephens. She went onto to win gold in the 100-meter dash and 400-meter relay.

"She had wit ... And she brought fame to Fulton and fame to William Woods University," Hanson said.

She also caught the attention of German dictator Adolf Hitler, who would request certain elite athletes to visit with him in his booth. Stephens' tall, blue-eyed physical characteristics, Hanson said, were attractive to Hitler. A photo of the two was taken and printed on postcards and sold the following day. The International Olympic Committee told Hitler what he was doing was slowing down the games and asked for him to stop immediately.

He did, and Stephens was the last athlete to visit with him, Hanson said.

After Olympic gold, Stephens' celebrity took off and she was asked to be featured in a magazine. The publication featured other female athletes, and over a photo of Stephens running was: "Is this a man or a woman?"

Hanson said Stephens wouldn't stand for the attempt at humiliation and sued the magazine for libel. She won the case and was awarded $5,000 - money she used to fund her own women's basketball team, Hanson said.

The William Woods College president believed the magazine "brought shame" to the school, Hanson said, and Stephens' scholarship was taken away and she was asked to leave.

Stephens was hurt, but Hanson said she was determined to go back to the college she grew so fond of. Stephens' mother was her biggest ally in her return to William Woods.

"Helen's mother told her, "Gold medals will open door for you, but an education will keep them open,'" Hanson said.

Stephens remained faithful to William Woods and donate to the college. It's athletic complex is named after her.

In addition to her athletic and academic achievements, Stephens was also fighter for women's rights. She advocated for Title IX, writing letters to congressman expressing her views.

Hanson said she first met Stephens on the William Woods campus during an event. She was given the task to write a biographical sketch on Stephens.

Hanson, who once dreamed of being a filmmaker, reached out her program and a pen to Helen asking for an autograph and phone number. She also wanted to know the answer to her question: Did you ever meet Leni Riefensthal (filmmaker of Olympia, a documentary of the 1936 Olympics)?

"Yeah, she was a good looking woman," Stephens said to Hanson.

While she was a public figure for the majority of her life, Hanson said Stephens never came out about her sexuality. Stephens was committed to her partner for 40 years, Hanson said.

After that initial meeting, Hanson quickly learned the depth and value of Stephens' life and wanted to tell her story.

"I'm interested in achieving women who have a life-long persistence," Hanson said. "Helen didn't settle."

Hanson traveled to Stephens' Florissant home to pick up documents, including Stephens' 1936 diary. The book took Hanson three-and-a-half years to write. Stephens read each section along the way except the final chapter. She died of a stroke before it was completed.

The track and field star remained that to the end, competing in the Show Me State games five months before her passing, Hanson said.

In her talk at William Woods, Hanson said she wanted to "touch lives" by sharing Stephens' story.

"Hope and strive - that's what it takes in this life," Hanson said. "And, Helen did it with greatness."