I initially considered Grete Waitz, because I thought "marathon," but no. Then I tried various combinations of key words, believing that the image was from the 1980s, but had no luck. At one point I thought that Annie Leibovitz might have been the photographer and felt myself growing warm, but twas another dead end.
A computer search of Olympic female sprinters who won medals in the 1970s and 1980s? Some promising European names were on the list--how Inge and Lyudmilla started to ring ferocious bells--but no, again.
Then tonight I typed in "Helmut Newton woman running beach" and my heart started to beat, because of course it was he who had photographed the gorgeous Gayle Olinekova, who was, of all nationalities, a Canadian(!) who transplanted to California, where Mr. Newton took her photograph (below):
Olinekova (born Olinek) initially ran the 400-meter before becoming a marathoner Her runner's legs were everything I aspired toward in my teen years, with their balance of muscularity and femininity. And these photos, from around 1981, taken when I was in Grade 10 or so, still inspire awe.
11 comments:
I remember you asking for help finding this image. I'm glad you found it!
It originally appeared in Sports Illustrated, in the June 5, 1981 issue The lengthy article on Ms. Olinekova (then Olinek) was titled "The Greatest Legs to Ever Stride the Earth," which may have constituted belaboring the obvious,since the photo led the article. It's available on line if you'd like to read it. Ms. Olinek had a sharp intellect (and tongue) to go with her legs.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/edb/reader.html?magID=SI&issueDate=19810105&mode=reader_vault
-Pete (from BC)
There's an error in my previous post, for which I apologize. The Sports Illustrated issue with the feature article on Gayle Olinek was January 5, '81, not June.
-Pete
I was just thinking of this picture as I too remember it from when I was in high school. I decided to do a search to see if I could find Gail's picture. I remembered her name so it was easy to find your post. I am so glad you did the leg work to locate the pictures as I was inspired by her as well. Having done the search I was sad to see she had passed and passed at such a young age.
I had the same trouble! My mother bought me her book, Go For It! when I was about 10, and I adored Olinekova for being a female role model I could be inspired by. When I first rediscovered her name a few years ago, there was only one picture I could find on the internet - I'm so glad her presence is growing stronger. I want to share her with my own daughter! Thank you!
I bought her book "Go For It" while in college in the 80's. It's been in storage, then on the bookshelf for 30 + years. I've been recovering from fluoroquinolone antibiotic (Avelox and cipro) poisoning and trying to recondition my muscles, so I pulled her book down this morning and started re-reading. She was ahead of her time, talking about "the law of attraction" before it was hip and the importance of nutrition. Got online to see what this powerhouse of a person is up to now, and discovered she had died. My mom and aunt also were claimed by cancer. I want to help find The Cure, and I will endeavor to persevere in their absences.
I knew Gayle in the early 80s and she helped me with both running and fiction writing, what a combo! Her grammar and spelling were superb.
Her loss, as an athlete and a wonderful human being, is incalculable.
Manny Gutiérrez, author of 'This Time' (LifeRich Publishing, 2018)
What a combo indeed! Thank you for your comment.
Thank you to everyone who left comments on this post! I am rereading them all :-).
Miss Cavendish:
Gayle used pictures taken by me on two of her books and acknowledged me in 'Go For It!'
Her uniqueness lay in being able to run well in the short distance and long distsnce categories, but she could not swim to save her life!!! LOL
I really miss her.
Manny
I lived in Plantation, FL from 1977-1979. I would run at Holiday Park there. Once when leaving, I saw a girl with legs that were amazing. Never saw her there again. Then...about 10 years (?) later, I opened my issue of Sports Illustrated and saw an article entitled "The Greatest Gams in the World" (or somethin similar) with the picture of her sprinting on the beach. Read the article which was very interesting about her. Learned of her death sometime later. She was Gayle Olnek or short for Gayle Olnekova.
I will NEVER forget the sight of those legs!!!!
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