Helene Madison
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Madison (left) with Johnny Weissmuller at 1932 Olympics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Helene Emma Madison | ||||||||||||||||||
| National team |
 United States | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
June 19, 1913 Madison, Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died |
November 27, 1970 (aged 57) Seattle, Washington | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Washington Athletic Club | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Helene Emma Madison (June 19, 1913 – November 27, 1970) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.
Madison won three gold medals in freestyle event at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming, along with Romeo Neri of Italy, the most successful athlete at the 1932 Olympics: women's 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay.[1]
In sixteen months in 1930 and 1931, she broke sixteen world records in various distances. Following the 1932 Olympics she appeared in the films The Human Fish and The Warrior's Husband and hence, as a professional, was not allowed to participate in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. After her swimming career, she had odd jobs as a swimming instructor, department store clerk and a nurse. Divorced three times and living alone, she died of throat cancer in 1970 in Seattle, Washington.[2]
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966, and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1992.[3]
See also
- List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
- World record progression 100 metres freestyle
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
- World record progression 400 metres freestyle
- World record progression 800 metres freestyle
- World record progression 1500 metres freestyle
- World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
References
- ↑ Helene Madison. Sports-Reference.com
- ↑ Mildred Andrews, "Madison, Helene (1914-1970)," HistoryLink.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
- ↑ International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees, Helene Madison (USA). Retrieved April 7, 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helene Madison. |
- Helene Madison (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame
- Helene Madison at the Internet Movie Database
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Albina Osipowich |
Women's 100-meter freestyle world record-holder (long course) 14 March 1930 – 9 July 1933 |
Succeeded by Willy den Ouden |
| Preceded by Martha Norelius |
Women's 200 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) 6 March 1930 – 3 May 1933 |
Succeeded by Willy den Ouden |
| Preceded by Martha Norelius |
Women's 400 metre freestyle world record holder (long course) 13 February 1931 – 12 July 1934 |
Succeeded by Willy den Ouden |
| Preceded by Josephine McKim |
Women's 800-meter freestyle world record-holder (long course) 6 July 1930 – 23 July 1931 |
Succeeded by Yvonne Godard |
| Preceded by Martha Norelius |
Women's 1,500-meter freestyle world record-holder (long course) 15 July 1931 – 26 June 1936 |
Succeeded by Grete Frederiksen |
| Men's Team |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Team | ||
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| 300 m | |
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| 400 m |
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