Career
He competed in the triple jump at the 1928 Olympics, but failed to reach the final. In September 1935 Blankers met Fanny Blankers-Koen at an athletic competition. He was impressed by her talent, but also noticed faults in her running technique.
In 1935, Blankers also became a national athletics coach and prepared the Dutch team to the 1936 Olympics.
Soon after he founded a woman"s athletics association Sagitta in Amsterdam to promote sports among women. Within a few years Sagitta became the leading woman"s athletics club in the Netherlands.
Blankers continued working as a coach with the national team and Sagitta through World World War II and 1940-1950s. He spent much of his later life with sports journalism.