Helene Madison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of United States United States
Women’s Swimming
Gold 1932 Los Angeles 100 m Freestyle
Gold 1932 Los Angeles 400 m freestyle
Gold 1932 Los Angeles 4 x 100 m Freestyle Relay

Helene Madison (born June 19, 1913 in Madison, Wisconsin – died November 27, 1970 in Seattle, Washington) was an American swimmer. She won three gold medals in freestyle at the 1932 summer Olympic Games.

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 was not allowed to particiapte in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. After her swimming career, she did odd jobs as a swimming instructor, department store clerk and a nurse. Divorced thrice and living alone, she died of cancer in 1970.

She was inducted in the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 1992.

[edit] References

Olympic champions in women's 100 m freestyle
1912: Fanny Durack | 1920: Ethelda Bleibtrey | 1924: Ethel Lackie | 1928: Albina Osipowich | 1932: Helene Madison | 1936: Rie Mastenbroek | 1948: Greta Andersen | 1952: Katalin Szöke | 1956: Dawn Fraser | 1960: Dawn Fraser | 1964: Dawn Fraser | 1968: Jan Henne | 1972: Sandra Neilson | 1976: Kornelia Ender | 1980: Barbara Krause | 1984: Nancy Hogshead-Carrie Steinseifer | 1988: Kristin Otto | 1992: Yong Zhuang | 1996: Jingyi Le | 2000: Inge de Bruijn | 2004: Jodie Henry
Olympic champions in women's 400 m freestyle
1924: Martha Norelius | 1928: Martha Norelius | 1932: Helene Madison | 1936: Rie Mastenbroek | 1948: Ann Curtis | 1952: Valeria Gyenge | 1956: Lorraine Crapp | 1960: Christina von Saltza | 1964: Virginia Duenkel | 1968: Debbie Meyer | 1972: Shane Gould | 1976: Petra Thuemer | 1980: Ines Diers | 1984: Tiffany Cohen | 1988: Janet Evans | 1992: Dagmar Hase | 1996: Michelle Smith | 2000: Brooke Bennett | 2004: Laure Manaudou


In other languages