Tollina Wilhelmina "Tollien" Schuurman (20 January 1913 – 29 January 1994) was a Dutch sprint runner who set three world records in the

100 m 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and

200 m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

events between 1930 and 1933. She competed at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

in the 100 m and 4 × 100 m events and finished in fourth place in the relay.

Biography

Schuurman was the third daughter in a family of educators – her father was the principal of an elementary school. In her early years she trained in athletics in summers and in gymnastics in winters. In 1929 she won her first athletics competition and in 1930 set her first national and world records in the 100 m at 12.0 s. The same year she won two silver medals in the sprint at the

1930 Women's World Games The 1930 Women's World Games (Czech and Slovak III Ženské Světové Hry v Praze, French 3è Jeux Féminins Mondiaux ) were the third regular international Women's World Games, the tournament was held between September 6 - September 8

. In 1932 she improved her world record to 11.9 s and was an Olympic favorite. However, she could not concentrate during the games, partly due to a long trip to Los Angeles and lack of coach there. She made a false start in the semifinals and then finished fourth, missing the final. After returning home she trained hard for the 1936 Games, winning the national titles in the 100 m, 200 m and long jump in 1933 and 1934. However, at the

1934 Women's World Games The 1934 Women's World Games (french: 4è Jeux Féminins Mondiaux) were the fourth edition of the international games for women. The tournament was held between 9–11 August at the White City Stadium in London, United Kingdom.

she severely tore her muscle in the first event, the 60 m, and dropped out of competitions. Schuurman came from a political engaged family, members of the

SDAP SDAP may refer to: * Social Democratic Workers' Party (Netherlands), a Dutch political party founded in 1894 that later merged into the Labour Party (Netherlands) * Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany, a German political party founded in 18 ...

and knew a lot about politics. When Hitler ruled out Jews to the Olympic games she refused to participate as an athlete. She wouldn' t walk for Hitler even if this was the only and last opportunity to an Olympic medal. Later she worked as an assistant at a dental clinic, a

pedicure A pedicure is a cosmetic treatment of the feet and toenails, analogous to a manicure. Pedicures include care not only for the toenails; dead skin cells are rubbed off the bottom of the feet using a rough stone (often a pumice stone). Skincare ...

practitioner and athletics coach. In 1948 she saved two girls from drowning off the coast of Vlieland. In 1952 she moved to Amsterdam, where she ran a pedicure shop until 1965. She died in 1994 aged 81. A local athletics club ''AV Impala'' in

Drachten Drachten () is a town in the northern Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Smallingerland, Friesland. It had a population of around 45,186 in January 2017 and is the second largest town in the province of Friesland. History Begin ...

named their athletics complex after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuurman, Tollien 1913 births 1994 deaths Dutch female sprinters Dutch female long jumpers World record setters in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of the Netherlands People from Westerveld Women's World Games medalists Sportspeople from Drenthe