Adolph Gustav Kiefer (June 27, 1918 – May 5, 2017) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic competitor, the last surviving gold medalist of the 1936 Summer Olympics and former world record-holder. He was the first man in the world to swim the 100-yard backstroke in under one minute. Kiefer was also an inventor and innovator of new products related to aquatics competition.

Early life and education

Kiefer was born as a son of German immigrants in

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, Illinois, and there attended Roosevelt High School (1936). He then attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

(1939), and Columbia College, Columbia University (1940).

Early record breaking

Kiefer became the first man to break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard backstroke while competing as a 16-year-old in the Illinois High School Championships of 1935, swimming 59.8 seconds. His 1936 Illinois state championship backstroke time of 58.5 seconds was the Illinois state high-school record until 1960. On April 6, 1940, Kiefer set another world record, swimming the 100-yard backstroke in 57.9 seconds. He broke twenty-three records after breaking the one-minute backstroke mark. Kiefer set a world record for the 100-meter backstroke of 1:04.8 on January 18, 1936, at Brennan Pools in Detroit, Michigan.

Summer Olympics in Berlin

Eighteen-year-old Kiefer represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Adolph Kiefer
Retrieved October 6, 2012. On August 14, Kiefer won the gold medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke. He set new Olympic records in the first-round heats (1:06.9), the second-round heats (1:06.8), and the event final (1:05.9). His Olympic Record would stand for over 20 years, finally broken by

David Theile David Egmont Theile, AO (born 17 January 1938) is an Australian former backstroke swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won consecutive gold medals in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, the only Australian to do so. H ...

in the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Later swimming career

Kiefer returned home a national hero, and began traveling with other U.S. Olympic medalists on a tour of Europe, China, Japan, and South America, during which he challenged other great swimmers in those locations to individual races. In over 2,000 races, Kiefer lost only twice. At the National AAU swimming championship in April 1943, University of Michigan All-American swimmer Harry Holiday, Jr. finally went head-to-head with world-record holder Kiefer. Holiday beat him in the 150-yard backstroke at the AAU meet. The defeat was the first for Kiefer in eight years. In his first two months of varsity competition, Holiday broke two of Kiefer's world records, lowering the 100-yard backstroke mark to 57 seconds and the 200-meter standard to 2:22.9. In August 1943, the NCAA also recognized Holiday as the holder of the new world record in the 150-yard backstroke with a mark of 1:31.5. Shortly thereafter, Kiefer was asked to audition for the role of "Tarzan", but answered the call of arms instead, joining the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

In the navy

Kiefer joined the U.S. Navy as a

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards. Canada "Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi ...

in late 1943 and was initially assigned to the physical fitness and swimming division of the United States Navy's Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) as a Chief Athletics Specialist. When the Navy realized that it was losing more lives to drowning than to enemy bullets, Kiefer was appointed to a committee to set new guidelines for safety and training. He quickly moved through the ranks, becoming Officer in Charge of Swimming for the entire U.S. Navy, training over 13,000 navy swim instructors to do the "Victory backstroke", a term Kiefer coined himself. Victory backstroke was a simplified version of the modern backstroke that allowed novice swimmers to breathe easily (on their backs) while leveraging what Adolph considered to be a more buoyant stroke style for novice swimmers. Victory backstroke was performed with both arms underwater, sweeping down simultaneously (instead of using alternating arms), while using a freestyle kick. The American Red Cross would later add Victory Backstroke to their swim training protocols. By the war's end, he had reached the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

, Senior Grade.

Business career

In 1947, he established Adolph Kiefer & Associates, Inc. in Chicago, which has provided swimmers with training, safety, and competition equipment.Kiefer & Associates
Our Founder – Adolph Kiefer
. Retrieved October 6, 2012. His Brother, Edward Kiefer, was responsible for the development of the nylon tank suit in 1948. and debuted the first nylon swimsuit supplied to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team—a marked improvement over the wool and cotton suits available at the time. Kiefer subsequently devoted himself to community service, combining swimming and philanthropy in innovative ways. In the 1960s he worked with Mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...

to build swimming-pools across the inner city of Chicago, providing the facilities needed for thousands of children to learn to swim. Kiefer actively supported Swim Across America, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for cancer research, and participated in SAA public swimming events well into his 70s and 80s.Swim Across America, Olympians
Adolph Kiefer
. Retrieved October 6, 2012.

Later life

Kiefer was an "Honor Swimmer" member of the inaugural class inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the s ...

in 1965. In 1966 he patented the first design for a no-wave, non-turbulence racing lane. In 2008 Kiefer celebrated his 90th birthday in Omaha at the 2008 U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials, where he awarded medals for the 200-meter backstroke. On June 27, 2012, he celebrated his birthday again in Omaha at the 2012 U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials—by awarding the medals for the 200-meter backstroke. In 2013 USA Swimming named Kiefer the "father of American swimming" in recognition of his contributions to American swimming. On the morning of May 5, 2017, Kiefer died at home in

Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...

, Illinois, at the age of 98.

Family

In 1941, Adolph Kiefer married Joyce Kainer. Together, they had four children: sons Dale and Jack and daughters Kathy and Gail. Jack Kiefer married Shelley Beman and had a son (Robin Kiefer) and a daughter (Gretel Kiefer).

References

External links

Our Founder – Adolph Kiefer
– Founder profile at Adolph Kiefer & Associates, Inc.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiefer, Adolph 1918 births 2017 deaths American people of German descent American male backstroke swimmers United States Navy personnel of World War II Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Chicago Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Texas Longhorns men's swimmers United States Navy sailors United States Navy officers University of Texas at Austin alumni Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Military personnel from Illinois 20th-century American inventors History of science and technology in the United States World record setters in swimming Columbia College (New York) alumni