Helene Madison
 Madison (left) with Johnny Weissmuller at 1932 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Helene Emma Madison |
| National team |  United States |
| Born | June 19, 1913 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | November 27, 1970 (aged 57) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle |
| Club | Washington Athletic Club |
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Medal record | |
Helene Emma Madison (June 19, 1913 – November 27, 1970) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.[1]
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.[2]
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. Madison had one child, Helene Madison Ware, who at one time lived in Marysville, Washington. Divorced three times and living alone, she died of throat cancer in 1970 in Seattle, Washington.[3]
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966, and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1992.[4]
See also[]
- List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
- 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[]
- ^ Stein, Alan (2014-02-17). "Freestyle swimmer Helene Madison wins first of three gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics on August 8, 1932". HistoryLink.org. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
- ^ Helene Madison Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. 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 International Olympic Committee
- Helene Madison at IMDb
show Olympic champions in women's 100 m freestyle |
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| show Olympic champions in women's 400 m freestyle |
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| show Olympic champions in women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay |
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- 1913 births
- 1970 deaths
- American female freestyle swimmers
- Deaths from cancer in Washington (state)
- Deaths from esophageal cancer
- World record setters in swimming
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
- Sportspeople from Seattle
- Swimmers at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics
- 20th-century American women
- 20th-century American people
- American swimming biography stubs