Ewa Janina Kłobukowska (born 1 October 1946) is a Polish former sprinter. She competed at the 1964 Olympics in the 4 × 100 m relay and 100 m sprint and won a gold and a bronze medal, respectively.Ewa Kłobukowska
sports-reference.com She also won two gold and one silver medal at the 1966 European Athletics Championships. Kłobukowska set three world records, one in the 100 m (11.1 s, 9 July 1965 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

) and two in the 4 × 100 m relay (44.2 s, 13 September 1964,

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and 43.6 s, 21 October 1964, Tokyo). Kłobukowska was at one point considered to be the fastest woman in the world. The American Press made a statement, saying that nobody would beat Kłobukowska for the next 7–8 years following a race in Prague. Despite these successes and laurels, her records were annulled by the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, coverin ...

(IAAF) after a sex identification test in 1967 wrongly labeled her as not female. The test procedures were later determined to be inadequate.

Personal life

Kłobukowska was born into a family of intellectuals. Her parents did not support Kłobukowska being involved in sports, however, she stood her ground. In 1965, she graduated from a Technical School of Economics No. 6 and in 1972 from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics. She went on to work for a steel construction company called Energomontaż-Północ Gdynia. She then worked as an accountant in a Polish company in Czechoslovakia. The sex test used for European Cup women's track and field competition in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1967 wrongly identified her as not female, and Kłobukowska was subsequently banned from competing in professional sports. This was surprising considering she passed the anatomical sex test a year prior to this competition. A year later, in 1968, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. According to the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

, she had "one chromosome too many", likely referring to detection of a Y chromosome in some of her cells. However, if she had been tested one year later at the Mexico Olympics, she would have been eligible on the grounds that she was Barr body (inactive X-chromosome) positive, having a Barr body in each of her cells. The Polish Olympic Committee has stated that athletic federations from the Soviet Union and East Germany targeted Kłobukowska for sporting reasons. Kłobukowska's humiliation led to a change in the sex verification policies by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

, which from then on kept test results secret. The IAAF erased the three world records set by Kłobukowska, including the two team records in the 4 × 100 m relay."Kłobukowska Ewa"
Polish Olympic Committee Even now, there are only a few articles on Kłobukowska because of the erasure of her accomplishments. Kłobukowska is not often seen in the public eye because of the controversy. The reasoning behind this is that it has taken a significant toll on her mental health, almost resulting in suicide. As of 2017, she had still received no formal apology.

Honours

*Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

, 1998 *Officer's Cross of the

, 2011 *Commander's Cross of the

, 2021

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klobukowska, Ewa 1946 births Living people Intersex sportspeople Intersex women Polish intersex people Polish female sprinters Olympic athletes for Poland Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Poland Olympic bronze medalists for Poland Athletes from Warsaw Sex verification in sports European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Skra Warszawa athletes Olympic female sprinters SGH Warsaw School of Economics alumni 20th-century Polish sportswomen

Personal life

Honours

See also

References

External links