Gerda Johanna Marie van der Kade-Koudijs (born October 29, 1923 (age 88)) is a former Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 athlete.

Born Gerda Koudijs in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

, her greatest success was winning the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 in the 4 x 100 m relay

Relay race

During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...

 at the 1948 Summer Olympics

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...

, together with Xenia Stad-de Jong

Xenia Stad-de Jong

Xenia Stad-de Jong is a former Dutch athlete.Born Xenia de Jong in Semarang , her greatest success was winning the gold medal as the first runner in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1948 Summer Olympics, together with Netty Witziers-Timmer, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs and Fanny Blankers-Koen...

, Netty Witziers-Timmer

Netty Witziers-Timmer

Jeannette Josephina Maria Witziers-Timmer was a Dutch athlete.Born Jeannette Josephina Maria Timmer in Amsterdam her greatest success was when she won the gold medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 1948 Summer Olympics, together with Xenia Stad-de Jong, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs and Fanny...

, and Fanny Blankers-Koen

Fanny Blankers-Koen

Francina "Fanny" Elsje Blankers-Koen was a Dutch athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She accomplished this as a 30 year old mother of two, during a time when many disregarded women's athletics...

. Two years earlier, she had already won the same event at the 1946 European Championships

1946 European Championships in Athletics

The 3rd European Athletics Championships were held from 22 August to 25 August 1946 in the Bislett Stadion in Oslo, Norway . For the first time it was a combined event for men and women, and for the first time a city in Scandinavia hosted the championships....

, her second title after winning the long jump

Long jump

The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...

. At the London Olympics, Van der Kade-Koudijs also took part in the long jump, in which she missed out on a bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 by half a centimeter, and the 80 m hurdles

Hurdling

Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...

, in which she was eliminated in the semi-finals.