He is undoubtedly one of the greatest sprinters in history. However, her athletic career has always been marked by controversy surrounding her gender.
Stanislava Valasevic, known as “Stella Walsh” in the US, is one of the most enigmatic figures in world athletics. His exceptional career and victories made him a legend, but his life was also marked by controversy, which continued until his tragic death on December 4, 1980.
Stella Walsh was born on April 3, 1911 in Wierchownia, Poland. He was only two years old when his parents immigrated to Cleveland, USA. It was in this town, which had a strong Polish community, that the little girl developed a passion for athletics. He has talent, he runs fast. “Very fast. Faster than the boys in his class,” he says The team . His performances propelled him to the big leagues years later. Selected for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, he received an offer of American naturalization, which he initially accepted before turning it down, preferring to run in the colors of his native country, according to the specialized media. TOBLOCK: . And with her Polish name “Stanislava Walasewicz”.
At these famous games in Los Angeles, Stella Walsh achieved extraordinary speed, winning the gold medal in the 100 meters in a new world record time of 11.9 seconds. Four years later, in Berlin, he did it again. But this time, defeating the American Helen Stevens, she “only” won the silver medal. As mentioned The team In a long portrait dedicated to him, during his long career, he set 18 world records, including the 100m record (11’8) and achieved the feat of winning the 100m-200m medley at the 1938 European Championships.
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“The Stella Boy”
Despite the titles and records, Stella Walsh’s career has been marred by rumors about her gender. He is accused of being a man, of having an unattractive figure for a woman. “People are talking loudly behind him. In the Polish community, he was nicknamed “Stella Boy” or, more offensively, “Bull Montana”, referring to the actor-wrestler who played the ape-man in the 1925 version of The Lost World. The team. “They call him “grandson”, the journalist writes that “he has something masculine”.
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Her marriage to a certain Harry Olson in 1956 did not change anything. A union clearly arranged for him to compete in the Melbourne Olympics under American colors. “However,” writes her biographer Sheldon Anderson, “there was no evidence that the two spouses lived together or even divorced.” Later, Harry Olson even stated: “I’d like to say it was a big love story, but it wasn’t,” she said. Maybe I was too naive to realize that something was wrong. We had sex sometimes, but always in the dark…”
A revealing autopsy
After retiring from the sport, Stella Walsh will still devote herself to coaching in her good city of Cleveland. But on December 4, 1980, everything stopped. The former champion was brutally murdered in an attempted robbery as she was leaving a store in the Polish neighborhood where she had spent most of her life. He was hit in the stomach by a bullet fired by the owner of the shop, he died on the spot.
An autopsy will reveal that Stanislava Valasevic was intersex. The examination report will indicate the presence of a small (non-functional) penis and testicles, the absence of female genital organs and the presence of male and female chromosomes. New York Times 1981 in January. Following these revelations, Stella Walsh will retain her Olympic title, making history as a woman.
Source: Le Figaro
