 Helen Stephens and Alice Arden (right) at the 1936 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 23, 1914 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | March 1, 2012 (aged 97) Roscoe, New York, United States |
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | High jump |
| Club | St. George's Dragon Club of New York |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personalbest | 1.61 m (1935)[1][2] |
Alice Jean Arden-Hodge (July 23, 1914 – March 1, 2012) was an American athlete who competed in the women'shigh jump event at the Olympic games in Berlin in 1936. Raised inLong Island, New York, Arden won tenathletic letters during her high school career across several different sports. The only woman from theNew York City area to have been selected for the1936 Summer Olympics women's team, Arden placed ninth in the high jump event and never competed in the sport again. Soon after, she married basketball player Russell Hodge and together they had three children, one of whom wasRuss Hodge, a decathlete at the1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. As of 2008, Arden and Hodge's participation make them the only mother-son Olympians in American history.
Arden was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,[1] but grew up inLong Island, New York.[3] Her father, Ray Arden, was an inventor who held over 400 patents. During her athletic career atBaldwin High School in New York, she won tenathletic letters in basketball,field hockey and athletics, and brokeBabe Didrikson's high jump record.[4][5] Arden had made what would become the best jump of her career in 1935, when she achieved a height of 1.613 m (5'3½").[1]
Arden finished second in the Olympic trials inProvidence, Rhode Island, behind onlyAnnette Rogers. She was selected to participate at the1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the only female team member from the New York City area to participate in those games.[4] Although $700 were raised for her trip, she was forced to return $200 due toAmateur Athletic Union regulations.[3] She placed an equal ninth in thewomen's high jump event, with a height of 1.50 m., although this would have been eighth had it been discovered earlier thatDora Ratjen was actually a male.[1] During the games, she forged strong friendships with many athletes and became lifelong friends with the head of theTurkishdelegation.[6] The Olympic Games, however, was her final competition.[3]
Inspired by the associations that she made at the Olympic Games, Arden became involved in numerous Olympic committees, working towards increased female participation in the events.[6] She played basketball for the Long Island Ducklings, where she met Russel "Rusty" Hodge, a semi-professional player.[7] Hodge, a center for the Liberty Emeralds, and Arden, also a center, were married in 1937.[4][8] They had a son, Russ Hodge, in 1939 and moved fromMonticello, New York, toRoscoe, New York, that same year.[7] There, the Hodges operated a dairy farm and, later, furniture and gravel stores.[4] Arden had a total of three children.[5]
The younger Hodge competed in thedecathlon at the1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,[4] where he placed ninth.[9] On his mother's 52nd birthday, he set a world record in a decathlon event in Los Angeles. Arden's husband died in 2001.[4] In August 2003, both Arden and her son were honoured with theSullivan County Historical Society "History Maker" award. They are the only mother-son Olympians in the history of the United States.[8] Still active in swimming at the age of 90,[5] Arden died on March 1, 2012, at the age of 97.[10]
