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Stephens, nicknamed the Fulton Flash after her birthplace Fulton, Missouri, was a strong athlete in sprint events - she never lost a race in her entire career - but also in weight events like the shot put and discus throw, and she won national titles in both categories of events.
Aged only 18, Stephens was sent out to the 1936 Summer Olympics. There, she won the 100 m final, beating reigning champion Stanislawa Walasiewicz. Her time of 11,5 was below the world record, but was not recognised because of a too strong back wind. Next, Stephens anchored the American 4 x 100 m relay team that won the Olympic title after the leading German team dropped its baton.
Stephens retired from athletics shortly after the Games and played some professional baseball and softballSoftball is a team sport for two teams in which the object is to score runs by advancing around a circuit of four bases, known as a "diamond". It is a direct descendant of baseball, (sometimes referred to as "hardball" to differentiate the two) but differ. From 1938Events January -June January 3 The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. January 11 Frances Moulton is the first woman to become president of a US national bank. January 20 Wedding of king Farouk I of Egypt and Farida Zulficar in Cai to 1952Summary of notable events in 1952 . Events January events January 8 West Germany has 8 million refugees inside its borders. January 24 Sudden heavy snowfall in Algeria. January 24 Vincent Massey sworn in as first Canada-born Governor-General of Canada., she was the owner and manager of her own semi-professional basketballBasketball is a ball sport in which two teams of five players each try to score points by throwing the ball through a basket. Basketball is highly suited to viewing by spectators, as it is primarily an indoor sport, played in a relatively small playing ar team.
She died in Saint Louis, aged 75.
| Olympic medalists in athletics (women) | Olympic Champions in Women's 100 m |
| Betty Robinson | Stanislawa Walasiewicz | Helen Stephens | Fanny Blankers-Koen | Marjorie Jackson | Betty Cuthbert | Wilma Rudolph | Wyomia Tyus | Renate Stecher | Annegret Richter | Lyudmila Kondratyeva | Evelyn Ashford | Florence Griffith Joyner | Gail Devers | Marion Jones | Yulia Nesterenko |
| Olympic medalists in athletics (women) | Olympic Champions in Women's 4x100 m relay |
| 1928 Canada Fanny Rosenfeld, Ethel Smith , Florence Bell & Myrtle Cook 1932 United States Mary Carew , Evelyn Furtsch , Annette Rogers & Wilhelmina Von Bremen 1936 United States Harriet Bland , Annette Rogers , Betty Robinson & Helen Stephens 1948 Netherlands Xenia Stad-de Jong, Netty Witziers-Timmer, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs & Fanny Blankers-Koen 1952 United States Mae Faggs , Barbara Jones , Janet Moreau & Catherine Hardy 1956 Australia Shirley Strickland, Norma Croker , Fleur Mellor & Betty Cuthbert 1960 United States Martha Hudson , Lucinda Williams , Barbara Jones & Wilma Rudolph 1964 Poland Teresa Wieczorek , Irena Kirszenstein, Halina Richter & Ewa Klobukowska 1968 United States Barbara Ferrell , Margaret Bailes , Mildrette Netter & Wyomia Tyus 1972 West Germany Christiane Krause , Ingrid Mickler , Annegret Richter & Heidemarie Rosendahl 1976 East Germany Marlies Oelsner , Renate Stecher, Carla Bodendorf & Bärbel Eckert 1980 East Germany Romy Müller , Bärbel Wöckel , Ingrid Auerswald & Marlies Göhr 1984 United States Alice Brown , Jeanette Bolden , Chandra Cheeseborough & Evelyn Ashford 1988 United States Alice Brown , Sheila Echols , Florence Griffith Joyner & Evelyn Ashford 1992 United States Evelyn Ashford, Esther Jones , Carlette Guidry & Gwen Torrence 1996 United States Gail Devers, Inger Miller, Chryste Gaines & Gwen Torrence 2000 Bahamas Sevatheda Fynes, Chandra Sturrup, Pauline Davis & Debbie Ferguson 2004 Jamaica Tayna Lawrence, Sherone Simpson, Aleen Bailey & Veronica Campbell |