Ethelda Bleibtrey | |
Fullname: | Ethelda Marguerite Bleibtrey |
National Team: | United States |
Strokes: | Freestyle |
Club: | Women's Swimming Association |
Birth Date: | 27 February 1902 |
Birth Place: | Waterford, New York, U.S. |
Death Place: | West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
Ethelda Marguerite Bleibtrey (February 27, 1902 – May 6, 1978), also known by her married name Ethelda Schlatke, was an American competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder in multiple events.[1]
Bleibtrey was a dominant backstroke swimmer, but entered and won gold medals in three freestyle events when there were no women's backstroke events at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.[2] She won a gold medal as member of the winning U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Margaret Woodbridge, Frances Schroth and Irene Guest.[2] [3] The American relay team set a new world record of 5:11.6 in the event final.[2] Individually, Bleibtrey also received gold medals and set world records in the women's 100-meter freestyle (1:13.6) and the women's 300-meter freestyle (4:34.0).[4] [5]
She was born in Waterford, New York,[2] to John and Maggie Bleibtrey.[6] She started swimming to help recover from polio, which she contracted in 1917.[7] In 1919, she was arrested for "nude swimming" — she removed her stockings at a pool where it was forbidden to bare "the lower female extremities for public bathing." The subsequent public support for Bleibtrey led to the abandonment of stockings as a conventional element in women's swimwear.[8]
Bleibtrey was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1967.[9] She died in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1978.[2]