Ethel Minnie Lackie (February 10, 1907 – December 15, 1979), also known by her married name Ethel Watkins, was an American competition

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 ...

, Olympic champion, and world record-holder. Lackie was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on February 10, 1907, to Mr. and Mrs. Lester E. Lackie, a highly competent swimmer who insisted that his daughter Ethel begin swimming by the age of three. She attended high school at University High in the Hyde Park community of Chicago. Ethel represented the Illinois Athletic Club in competition, under Hall of Fame Coach

Bill Bachrach William Bachrach (May 15, 1879 in Chicago, Illinois – July 1959) was an American swimming and water polo coach. Early life Bachrach was Jewish, and one of 16 children born to Charles and Leonora Bachrach in Elgin, Illinois, 40 miles west of Ch ...

and was the first woman to break 60 seconds for the 100y freestyle and the first to clock 1:10.0 for the 100m freestyle. Bachrach coached many swimming legends. Among those who also won medals in the 1924 Paris Olympics were

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

of Tarzan movie fame, Bob Skelton, Arne Borg, and

Sybil Bauer Sybil Lorina Bauer (September 18, 1903 – January 31, 1927) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. She represented the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics, where she won the gold medal in t ...

. She set several American and world records. As referenced in the following section, Lackie set a world record of 1:10.0 for the 100-meter freestyle on 28 January 1926, that held until August 7, 1929. The combined time of 4:58.8 for swimming on the gold medal 4×100 m freestyle relay team at the 1924 Paris Olympics was set on July 20, 1924 and held until August 9, 1928.

1924 Olympics

Lackie represented the United States at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

in Paris.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Ethel Lackie
Retrieved November 22, 2012. Individually, she won a gold medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle, finishing with an Olympic record time of 1:12.4, and leading an American medal sweep of the event. She also won a second gold medal as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with American teammates Euphrasia Donnelly, Gertrude Ederle and Mariechen Wehselau. The U.S. relay team set a new world record of 4:58.8 in the event final. Louis Handley was the women's Olympic head coach that year, but her coach at the Illinois Athletic Club, Bill Bachrach, was the men's Olympic head coach. After retiring from competitions she married Bill Watkins, a rower from the Santa Monica area. Ethel noted in her Hall of Fame acceptance speech that her husband grew up swimming off the beaches of Santa Monica, served summers in college as a lifeguard, held records in paddle-boarding events, and captured championships in dory rowing. She died in

Newbury Park, California Newbury Park is a populated placeReal Estate Communications, Inc. (1984). ''California Real Estate Directory''. Page 201. in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks, California, Thousand Oaks ...

on December 15, 1979.

Honors

In 1969, she became an honor member of 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 ...

References

External links

Olympedia Biography, Ethel Lackie

International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honoree Type Swimmer: Ethel Lackie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lackie, Ethel 1907 births 1979 deaths American female freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Chicago Swimmers at the 1924 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportswomen

1924 Olympics

Honors

See also

References

External links