Hlne Dutrieu

Vocation

Lifestyle

Notable

Belgian cycling world champion, stunt cyclist, stunt motorcyclist, automobile racer, stunt driver, pioneer aviator, wartime ambulance driver, and director of a military hospital. The daughter of a Belgian Army officer,she left school at the age of 14 to earn a living. Dutrieu became a professional track cyclist racing for the Simpson Lever Chain team. In 1895 she gained the women's world record for distance cycled in one hour. In 1897 and 1898 she won the women's speed track cycling world championship in Ostend, Belgium, and earned the nickname "La Flèche Humaine" ,The Human Arrow. She became the first woman pilot to fly with a passenger and was the first woman pilot to stay airborne for more than an hour. On 21 December 1910 she became the first winner of the Coupe Femina (Femina Cup) for a non-stop flight of 167 km in 2 hours 35 minutes. In 1911 she regained the Coupe Femina temporarily with a flight of 254 km in 2 hours 58 minutes but that year's cup was eventually won by Marie Marvingt. During World War I Dutrieu became an ambulance driver. Général Février put her in charge of the ambulances at Messimi Hospital. She later became the director of Campagne à Val-de Grâce military hospital. After the war she became a journalist. In 1922 she married Pierre Mortier and took French nationality. She later became vice president of the women’s section of the Aéro-Club de France (Aero Club of France). Link to Wikipedia biography