| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s swimming | ||
| Competitor for the United States | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | 4x50 yard freestyle relay |
| Men’s water polo | ||
| Gold | 1904 St. Louis | Team competition |
Louis de Breda Handley or Luigi de Breda (Rome February 14, 1874 – New York December 28, 1956) was an Italian-born American freestyle swimmer and water polo player who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.
He was the son of the American sculptor Francis Montague Handley and of his Italian wife. He was registered in Rome as Italian citizen with the baptismal name of Luigi and the surname of his mother, "de Breda".
In 1896 he fled to New York and added to his name the surname of his father. He worked in a small firm imports and devoted himself to his second passion after hunting, swimming. He was also a great water polo player (his style of shooting was called "jumping salmon").
In the 1904 Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4x50 yard freestyle relay, and was a member of New York Athletic Club water polo team, which won a gold medal. He also competed in the 1 mile freestile but did not finish.
As trainer he led Ethelda Bleibtrey to three gold medals in Antwerp 1920 and Gertrude Ederle the first female crossing the English Channel in 1926.
He wrote the entry dedicated to swimming on the Encyclopædia Britannica.