Leo Joseph "Bud" Goodwin (November 13, 1883 – May 25, 1957) was an American

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, diver, and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player who competed for the New York Athletic Club. He participated for the U.S. in the

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

and

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

and won two gold and two bronze medals in events that encompassed all three disciplines. Goodwin was born on November 13, 1883, in New York City, and like many outstanding swimmers in the area, swam for the New York Athletic Club, than managed by Hall of Fame Coach Gus Sundstrom. His training and competition were abruptly interrupted when he nearly lost his arm from

blood poisoning Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is compo ...

at age 22 in 1906. Dr. Dave Hennen, a swimmer from his club and a famous surgeon, dissected his entire forearm while cleaning it from poison, then re-assembled the veins, muscles and ligaments. Goodwin quickly recovered, but was unfit for the 1906 Intercalated Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Athens.

Swimming highlights

In his career, he won over 50 National and New York Metropolitan championships. Goodwin won outdoor AAU titles in 1904 in the 440 yard freestyle, in 1901 and 1907 in the 880-yard freestyle, and the 1-mile freestyle in 1910 and in 1912–14. He won outdoor AAU titles in long-distance swimming in 1910 and 1915. His indoor AAU title wins came in the 100-yard freestyle in 1903, and in the 500-yard freestyle in 1908. He was an accomplished marathon swimmer, and gained local notoriety for winning New York's Battery-to-Coney Island race.

Olympics

1904 St. Louis

At the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, Goodwin won a gold medal swimming for the NYAC team in the 4x50-yard freestyle relay in a time before only meter distances were part of Olympic competition. He also won a gold medal in Water Polo competing with the NYAC Water Polo team. He placed third, taking a bronze medal, in the "

Plunge for distance The plunge for distance is a diving event that enjoyed its greatest popularity in the 19th and early part of the 20th century, even being included as an official event in the Diving at the 1904 Summer Olympics, 1904 Summer Olympics.Kehm, GregOly ...

", gliding a measured 17.37 meters in a 60-second timed interval after a dive of no more than 18 inches from the surface of the pool where the arms and legs were not used to gain momentum. The event is considered a "dive" event by swimming historians, though it was only included in the 1904 Olympics. In events where he did not medal, he placed fourth in the 440-yard freestyle event, placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle, and sixth in the 100-yard freestyle.

1908 London

At the 1908 London Olympics, the first Olympics to use a 100-meter pool, he won a bronze medal in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, a more modern event. He swam only in the first preliminary round in the individual 400-meter freestyle event and did not advance. In the 400, the favorites Great Britain and Austalasia, took the gold and silver medals respectively. The United States swimmers were far back in their finish times.

1912 Stockholm

At the 1912 Olympics, he was entered in three events, but did not swim. At the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition Goodwin set an outdoor record by swimming 3.5 miles in 1 hour and 38 minutes in

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. He won by 200 yards. He later received the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

, the highest peacetime award in the United States, for rescuing people from drowning at

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

. He retired from active competitions in 1922, but continued swimming through his seventies. He worked on his father's Manhattan Island excursion ferry for many years, before later retiring to Palm Beach.

Honors

Goodwin was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest U.S. peacetime award, for rescuing people from drowning at Newport News, Virginia. The award is not to be confused with the Congressional Medal of Honor which is usually awarded only to active members of the Military."Obituary, Leo J. "Bud" Goodwin", ''Daily News'', New York, New York, 26 May 1957, pg. 395 In 1971 he was 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 stu ...

as an "Honor Swimmer". He died at St. Vincents Hospital in New York on May 25, 1957. He was survived by a son, Tommy Goodwin who was a New York State golf championship five times.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Leo 1883 births 1957 deaths Congressional Gold Medal recipients American male freestyle swimmers American male water polo players Divers at the 1904 Summer Olympics American male divers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic divers for the United States Olympic medalists in diving Olympic medalists in water polo Olympic water polo players for the United States Swimmers from New York City Swimmers at the 1904 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen