Helene Madison
Encyclopedia
Helene Madison was an American
swimmer. She won three gold medals in freestyle at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games
, becoming, along with Romeo Neri
of Italy
, the most successful athlete there. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin
.
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
.
She was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame
in 1992.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
swimmer. She won three gold medals in freestyle at the 1932 Summer Olympic Games
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
, becoming, along with Romeo Neri
Romeo Neri
Romeo Neri was an Italian gymnast from Rimini, and three times Olympic Champion. He won three gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, becoming, along with Helene Madison of United States, the most successful athlete there. He previously obtained a silver medal in the 1928 Summer...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the most successful athlete there. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.
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
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. 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
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
She was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame
United States Olympic Hall of Fame
The United States Olympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic athletes.The Hall of Fame was established by the United States Olympic Committee in 1979; the first members were inducted in 1983. Between 1992 and 2003, the Hall of Fame went dormant, with no induction of new...
in 1992.