1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: Try to imagine this. You're sixteen years old and you 2 00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: win Olympic gold in track and field. Three years later, 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,399 Speaker 1: you're in a horrific plane crash. They think you're dead, 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: but despite permanent injuries, you come back to win another gold. 5 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,759 Speaker 1: Five years later, I'm Patty Steele, beating life and death 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: odds to take home the gold. That's next on the backstory. 7 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: The backstory is back. Goda admit, it's pretty amazing to 8 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:34,440 Speaker 1: watch Olympic athletes compete when you know the incredibly hard 9 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: work and skill it takes to get there. But it's 10 00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: also something more. It's this determination to never give up. 11 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: Nobody has embodied that mindset more than Elizabeth Robinson, known 12 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: as Betty. She was born in nineteen eleven in Riverdale, Illinois. 13 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: She loves sports, but in those days, very few women 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: were all that involved in that world. So how did 15 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: she go on to win gold as a teenager. Well, 16 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,039 Speaker 1: one afternoon, she was leaving her high school and trying 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,199 Speaker 1: to catch her train home. She took off like the wind. 18 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: Her science teacher, Charles Price, was headed for the same train, 19 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: and while he was blown away by her speed, he thought, 20 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: she's never going to make that train. You know that feeling. 21 00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: But once on board, he was shocked when she sat 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: down right next to him. Turns out that teacher Charles Price, 23 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 1: was a former athlete and the coach of the school's 24 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: track team. He decided he wanted to try to test 25 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: her speed and asked her to meet up with him 26 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,399 Speaker 1: the next day. After testing, he saw the makings of 27 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 1: a star. He instantly invited her to join the boys team, 28 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: since there was no girls track team at her school 29 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: in those days. Betty knew she was fast, but had 30 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: never thought about competing. She said, I had no idea 31 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: that women even ran back then. Through pure talent and 32 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: a bit of coaching, Betty ran her first official race 33 00:01:56,920 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: on March thirtieth, nineteen twenty eight. She was just sixteen 34 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: years old. It was an indoor meet, and she finished 35 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: second to Helen Filkey, the US one hundred meter record holder. 36 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: They ran the sixty yard dash. At her next race, 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,519 Speaker 1: two months later, she ran outdoors in the one hundred 38 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 1: meter race and beat Pilkey. She also unofficially equalled the 39 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 1: world record. So get this. Just four months after her 40 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:24,680 Speaker 1: first ever race, she headed to the nineteen twenty eight 41 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: Olympics in Amsterdam. The first Games where the Olympics allowed 42 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: women to compete in track and field. It turns out 43 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: she was the only US athlete to qualify for the 44 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: one hundred meter final. In just her third ever one 45 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: hundred meter race, Betty beat the competition and equalled the 46 00:02:42,639 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: world record of twelve point two seconds. To this day, 47 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: she is the youngest athlete ever to win Olympic gold 48 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: in the one hundred meter. On top of that, she 49 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: brought home silver with the four by one hundred meter 50 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: relay team. She talked about winning that first gold in 51 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: an interview sixty years later, saying, I can remember breaking 52 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: the tape, but I wasn't sure that I'd won. It 53 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:08,679 Speaker 1: was so close. But then my friends in the stands 54 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: jumped over the railing and came down and put their 55 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 1: arms around me, and then I knew I'd won. Sixteen. 56 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: Bringing home the gold from the Olympics a massive parade 57 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: given in her honor when she arrived back in Chicago. 58 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: You'd think that was kind of the apex of her 59 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: athletic career. Right, Not even close. She aimed to head 60 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: to the nineteen thirty two Olympics in Los Angeles, and 61 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: she went to Northwestern University to get a physical education degree, 62 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: hoping to become a coach at the nineteen thirty six Olympics. 63 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: But all that changed in the blink of an eye 64 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: on June twenty eighth, nineteen thirty one. It was a 65 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: year ahead of the thirty two Games, and Betty was 66 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,720 Speaker 1: the hot favorite for gold. On that June day, she 67 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: wanted to distract herself from all the training, and she 68 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: decided to go on an airplane tour with her cousin, Will, 69 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: who was a pilot, and she wanted to become a 70 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 1: pilot too. Okay, it's not long after takeoff an engine 71 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: problem forces the plane into a steep nosedive. There's a 72 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 1: terrible crash, and witnesses think Betty and her cousin Will 73 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: are dead, but Will is taken to the hospital, and 74 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: instead of taking Betty there, the man that found the 75 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: wreckage tosses her body in the trunk of the car. 76 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: Believing she's dead, he takes her to an undertaker. Now 77 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: we're at the morgue and the undertaker sees her breathing 78 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: just faintly. He realizes she's still alive. She's finally sent 79 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: to the hospital with numerous broken and cracked bones. While 80 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: both Betty and will survive, they're horribly injured. Betty remains 81 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: unconscious for two months and when she wakes up, they 82 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: tell her she'll never walk without a limp, much less 83 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: run again. For six months she's in a wheelchair, and 84 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: she then spends two years in rehab. The whole time 85 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:01,080 Speaker 1: she's totally focused on getting back to co competitive sprinting. 86 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: But here's the problem. Sprinting requires starting from a crouched position, 87 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: and Betty can no longer bend her leg fully at 88 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: the knee due to the pins holding the bones together, 89 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: so she can't crouch for the start. On the other hand, 90 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: after rigorous training, she's still really fast, fast as the wind. 91 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: So she tries out for the nineteen thirty six Olympic 92 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: team in relays, and she makes it. At the Berlin 93 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,080 Speaker 1: Olympics that year, Betty Robinson wins her second gold medal 94 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: as a member of the US four by one hundred 95 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: meter relay team. Her daughter Jane later said the first 96 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: gold medal was not as important to her as her 97 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six medal. The first was easier. It was 98 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: just a few months after she started running competitively. But 99 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,119 Speaker 1: for the second gold. She had to work her tail 100 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: off to get back from that injury. That medal was 101 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:01,679 Speaker 1: the reward for her determination to recover. Betty retired after 102 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: the Berlin Olympics at just twenty four years old, but 103 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: she stayed involved in athletics as an official and as 104 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 1: an advocate for women in sports. She also married, had 105 00:06:11,839 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: two kids, and worked in a hardware store for many 106 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: many years. In nineteen seventy seven, she was inducted into 107 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: the US National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and 108 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety six, at the age of eighty four, 109 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: she carried the Olympic torch for the Atlanta Olympic Games. 110 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: Finally suffering from cancer and Alzheimer's disease, Betty Robinson died 111 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: at the age of eighty seven. She was and is 112 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: the embodiment of the Olympic motto Sidius Altius Fortius, swifter, Higher, Stronger. 113 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: Hope you're enjoying the backstory with Patty Steel, Follow or 114 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: subscribe for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, and 115 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: feel free to dm me if you've got a story 116 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele, 117 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: and on Instagram, Reel Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The 118 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, 119 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our 120 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. 121 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 1: Feel free to reach out to me with comments and 122 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and 123 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,120 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the 124 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't 125 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: know you needed to know.