Fire on the Track
Betty Robinson and the Triumph of the Early Olympic Women
by
Roseanne Montillo
That was some fierce listening. At times it was almost two much information--I wondered if she was making up the details. But Betty Robinson--or was that Helen Stephens?--kept a journal. I don't know about Stella Walsh; Babe Didrickson doesn't seem like the sort of person who would.
Still, everyone involved were celebrities of some sort. I'm sure the author manufactured no more than she needed to, to make it all seem so very real that you were there, right there. Watching, waiting, worrying...sometimes even running with the amazing women pioneers of the Olympic track and field.
I can't think of a single criticism. It was long, but it was worth it. I wish she'd write a sequel covering the next two decades of women's athletics.
On a personal note, it was mind-blowing to read this at the same time as the start of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Nobody was questioning whether women should be allowed to participate; no one was insisting that the athletes would no longer be suitable for marriage and motherhood; and no one was saying what's the point of women in sport since their best scores were no better than those of high-school boys. Things change--really they do. And sometimes for the better.
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