Ethelda Bleibtrey

Olympic medalist
Belibtrey & Kahanamoku
Medal record
Women’s swimming
Competitor for the United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1920 Antwerp	100 m freestyle
Gold	1920 Antwerp	300 m freestyle
Gold	1920 Antwerp	4×100 m freestyle relay

Ethelda Bleibtrey (February 27, 1902 – May 6, 1978) was a swimmer from the United States notable for winning three gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp.

Bleibtrey started swimming to help recover from polio, which she caught in 1917. 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."

She was born in Waterford, New York, and died in West Palm Beach, Florida.

References

• Conner, Floyd (2002). The Olympic's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Gold Medal Gaffes, Improbable Triumphs, and Other Oddities. Brassey's. pp. 34. ISBN 1574884131. 
• "Ethelda Bleibtrey". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9002678/Bleibtrey,%20Ethelda. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
• "Ethelda Bleibtrey". International Swimming Hall of Fame. http://www.ishof.org/Honorees/67/67ebleibtrey.html. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
• "This day in sports: Aug 25". USA Today. 1999-08-25. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/century/082599.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 
• Ramsey, Russell W. (Nov-Dec 1989). "Get in the swim! You'll be in good company". Vibrant Life. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0826/is_n7_v5/ai_8065297/print. Retrieved 2007-05-24. 

Records
Preceded by Fanny Durack (AUS)	Women's 100 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) August 23, 1920 – June 30, 1923	Succeeded by Gertrude Ederle (USA)