Aat van Noort

In an era where women’s track and field was still frowned upon by many, Aat van Noort competed in the 800 metres, then the longest event on the women’s programme. In 1927, she won the inaugural Dutch title in the event, and later that year set the first official national record, 2:46.2, which would be greatly improved the following year by Anny Mallon and also unofficially by herself. After marrying officer Charles van Swieten, Aat van Noort moved to the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). During the Second World War, Aat and her family were interned in Japanese camps, while her husband was (after his capture) forced to work on the Burma Railway. Despite this, her entire family surived the war, and they returned to the Netherlands in 1950, only to emigrate once more a few years later, this time to New Zealand, where she lived until her death in 1998.

Personal Best: 800 – 2:31.0e (1928).