Babe Didrikson -- Best Athlete of the 20th Century

Babe Didrikson -- Best Athlete of the 20th Century

In one week, Babe Didrikson won three Olympic medals and set three world records in three different sports.  Her achievement was unprecedented, and remains unmatched to this day.

Babe won Gold for both the javelin throw and the high jump; and Silver for the 80m hurdles -- though in truth she tied for 1st place with a leap of 1.65m. Her technique was considered "invalid", which dropped her to Silver. 

Recognized by the Associated Press as the Best Athlete of the 20th Century, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson competed in the 1932 Olympics. She qualfied for 8 events, but was elgible to compete for only three events, which was the limit for women at that time.

But Babe was unbeatable in many sports! She was All American in Basketball, and played competitive baseball, tennis, diving, bowling, tennis, swimming, boxing, and volleyball. 

She was the first female to compete in PGA against men.  She was a founding member of LPGA, won 41 tournaments; 13 of them in a row. 

After a diagnosis with cancer in 1953, she won the U.S. Open, her 10th major. She was still #1 when she died on September 1956 at 45 years of age. 

Does any modern-day athlete come close to this athletic phenom?  

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