Posted on Jun 8, 2022
How Charles Daniels turned American swimming from joke to juggernaut
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Charles M. Daniels was the first American swimmer to win Olympic gold — but even after he left the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis with three gold medals, one silver, one bronze and a world record, his biggest challenges were still ahead. The British had skipped the 1904 Olympics, and their competitive swimmers were a powerhouse that put the Americans to shame. And what about this newfangled crawl being tried out by the Australians?
How Charles Daniels turned American swimming from joke to juggernaut
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.org
St. Louis
Olympics
Swimming
Australia
American History
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Today, his legacy continues. It wasn’t just that he was an amazing athlete whose successes persuaded the U.S. Olympic committee to build a swimming program. It was his tireless promotion of the nascent sport he loved.
Said Loynd, “Even in 1904, a lot of kids probably didn't even know competitive swimming was a sport until he started making headlines.” After Daniels’ even bigger triumph in 1908 London, he became swimming’s ambassador: “He spent the next three, four years traveling the country. He didn't make any money doing this. He'd show up at pools that got started. He just wanted to teach people a crawl stroke.
“He wanted to get people excited about swimming. And he really started the roots of our culture.”...
..."Today, his legacy continues. It wasn’t just that he was an amazing athlete whose successes persuaded the U.S. Olympic committee to build a swimming program. It was his tireless promotion of the nascent sport he loved.
Said Loynd, “Even in 1904, a lot of kids probably didn't even know competitive swimming was a sport until he started making headlines.” After Daniels’ even bigger triumph in 1908 London, he became swimming’s ambassador: “He spent the next three, four years traveling the country. He didn't make any money doing this. He'd show up at pools that got started. He just wanted to teach people a crawl stroke.
“He wanted to get people excited about swimming. And he really started the roots of our culture.”...
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