Helen Stephens

My report is on Helen Stephens. Helen Stephens was born on February 3, 1918. Her parents owned a farm and Helen had to work hard with her younger brother, Robert Lee. As a child she dreamed that she was the fastest runner in the world. Helen went to Middle River School, but it didn’t have sports teams for her.

Luckily, when she went to Fulton High School the P.E. coach, Coach W. Burton Moore, realized how fast Helen could run and he played a part in helping her dream come true. When she was 15, he timed Helen running the 50 yard dash. Coach Moore was amazed when his stopwatch read the time 5.8 seconds, which tied the world record held by Elizabeth Robinson. Coach Moore took Helen to her first official race which was against Stella Walsh, who won a gold medal in the 1932 Olympics. Helen beat her during the 50 meter dash with 6.6 seconds, which set a new record for running on an indoor dirt track. 

Helen went to the 1936 Summer Olympics to compete in the running area. On August 4, 1936, Helen Stephens set the Olympic world record at the 100 meter dash, winning at 11.5 seconds. Nobody could beat it until Wilma Rudolph did 24 years later. Helen also competed in a relay race where she ran the last leg of the race as her team made a new world record of 46.9 seconds in the 400 meter relay race.

When she returned to Fulton, she got her college degree at William Woods College. She also played in the All-American Red Heads basketball team the Helen Stephens Olympics Co-Eds. During the World War II she worked at an aircraft plant and then the Women’s Reserve of the U.S. Marines. After the war she became a research librarian at the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center in St. Louis. Helen faced the challenge of being feminine in a masculine world.

Helen Stephens had no children and was always single. She died on January 17, 1994 at the age of 75. (Reason for death unknown.)

Helen Stephens broke many world records which led to her fame. She is in the Women’s Hall of Fame and the National United States Track and Field Hall of Fame.  She is an inspiration to many people.