Helene Emma Madison (June 19, 1913 – November 27, 1970) 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 ...

, a 1932 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter, 400-meter and 4x100-meter freestyle relay, and a former world record-holder. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin on June 9, 1913, though as a young child her family relocated to Seattle. By the age of 12, she began swimming at the Seattle area's Green Lake, one block from her Seattle home, and later participated in Seattle Parks Department swim programs.Duncan Don, "Queen Helene Ruled the Swimming World", ''The News Tribune'', Tacoma, Washington, May 22, 1977, pg. 4 Recognized as a young talent by local Seattle area coach Ray Daughters in 1928, Madison started swimming competitively with Daughters at the Crystal Pool, and later at the

Washington Athletic Club The Washington Athletic Club, founded in 1930, is a private social and athletic club located in downtown Seattle. The 21-story WAC clubhouse opened in December 1930, and was designed in the Art Deco style by Seattle architect Sherwood D. Ford. ...

. She soon won the 1928 Northwest High School Championship in one of her first major victories as a competitive swimmer. Daughters would also later serve as the Head Coach for Madison's 1932 U.S. Women's Olympic swim team.

Freestyle records

Madison's swimming achievements in freestyle swimming were unheralded and remain unique among women's freestyle competitors through the 1932 Olympics. In a sixteen-month period in 1930 and 1931, she broke sixteen world records in various distances. She held all the official world records in freestyle in 1932 from 50-yards to the mile, and held American national records in the 100m, 220yd, 500yd, and 800yd freestyles. Her American National Championship records held for many years, with the distance events lasting the longest. Her record in the 100-meter freestyle lasted 15 years, her 220-yard freestyle record lasted 6 years, her 500-yard freestyle record lasted 23 years and her 880-yard freestyle lasted 5 years. In sprint events, she was most easily remembered for swimming a 100-yard freestyle in one minute flat.

1932 Olympics

Madison won three gold medals in freestyle events at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

in Los Angeles, becoming, along with

Romeo Neri Romeo Neri (26 March 1903 – 23 September 1961) was an Italian gymnastics, gymnast. 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 ...

of Italy, the most successful athlete at the 1932 Olympics: women's 100-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Helene Madison
. Sports-Reference.com In the 100-meter freestyle final, she swam a time of 1:06.8, and though she did poorly in a semi-final, she finished strong in the final and managed to edge out silver medalist Willy den Ouden of the Netherlands by 1 second. In the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, Madison anchored the American team which was considerably faster than the competition and consisted of

Josephine McKim Josephine Eveline McKim (January 4, 1910 – December 10, 1992), also known by her married name Josephine Chalmers, was an American swimmer who won three medals at the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. In 1928 she won the bronze medal in the 400-meter fre ...

Helen Johns Helen Johns (born April 24, 1953) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2003 and served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris a ...

and

Eleanor Garatti Eleanor A. Garatti (July 12, 1909 – September 9, 1998), later known by her married name Eleanor Saville, was an American competition swimmer for the San Rafael and Western Women's Swim Clubs, a 4x100-meter freestyle relay Olympic gold medalist ...

. As only five countries competed, there was no need for preliminary heats. The American team finished in a World Record time of 4:38, defeating the second place team from the Netherlands that finished 9 seconds later with a time of 4:47.5. In the 400-meter freestyle, Madison was the standing world record holder, but the race was closer than expected. Madison swam a 5:28.5, though she had to edge out American silver medalist

Lenore Kight Lenore M. Kight (September 26, 1911 – February 9, 2000), known by her married name Lenore Wingard after 1935, was an American competition swimmer for the Carnegie Library Athletic fund and an Olympic medalist in the 400 meter freestyle who rep ...

, who finished only one-tenth of a second behind her. With the Americans dominant, South African Jenny Maakal, finished a full nineteen seconds behind second place American, Lenore Kight. The race was Madison's last of the Olympics, and the last of her swimming career.

Post-swimming careers

Following the August, 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, Madison was met in Seattle with a ticker-tape parade and a large reception. Only two weeks later, she swam in a paid exhibition and lost her amateur standing. She appeared in ''The Human Fish,'' in 1932, a short film directed by Clyde Bruckman that included a small part for Johnny Weismuller, where she had a starring role as the Human Fish. In the same year, she appeared in an uncredited role in ''

The Warrior's Husband ''The Warrior's Husband'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring Elissa Landi, David Manners, and Ernest Truex. It tells the story of the Amazons, who ruled over men thanks to the sacred girdle of Diana, ...

.'' Neither of the films she appeared in were large box office draws, and her attempt to work as a nightclub entertainer was short-lived. Having worked as a professional actor, she was not allowed to participate in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. In July, 1934 she coached swimming briefly at Seattle's Alki Natatorium at Alki Beach.Antoncinch, Pete, "Vickers and Vinney Preparing Plans", ''The Seattle Star'', Seattle, Washington, July 18, 1934, pg. 12 From 1948-1951, she coached Seattle's Moore Hotel Swimming Team, where she led her women's squad to first place in the Chronicle Championship in August 16-17, 1951. In May, 1950, she was hospitalized after an operation to treat a severe back injury, though continued to coach after recovering. She also worked as a food vendor at a Seattle beach where as a woman she was not allowed to become a lifeguard, a department store clerk and a student nurse.

Personal life

On March 6, 1937, while working as a student nurse in Seattle, she married Luther C. McCiver, an engineer and builder, whom she had met in 1931 at the height of her swimming career. Madison had one child around 1938, Helene Madison Ware, who at one time lived in Marysville, Washington."Helene Madison to Resume Work", ''Peninsula Daily News'', Port Angeles, Washington, March 8, 1937, pg. 7 Divorced three times and living alone, she died of throat cancer in 1970 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. The ashes from her cremation are held at a mausoleum in the Acacia Memorial Park in Lake Forest Park, Washington.Mildred Andrews,
Madison, Helene (1914-1970)
" HistoryLink.com. Retrieved October 7, 2012.

Honors

She 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 ...

in 1966, and the

U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame The United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame is an honor roll of the top American Olympic and Paralympic athletes headquartered at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum, opened in April 2020 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Hall ...

in 1992. She was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for 1931. In 1960, she was elected as part of the introductory class to the Washington State Athletic Hall of Fame in Tacoma. The Helene Madison Pool, built in 1970 in the Bitter Lake neighborhood of North Seattle, is dedicated to her memory.

References

External links

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Madison, Helene 1913 births 1970 deaths American female freestyle swimmers American swimming coaches Deaths from cancer in Washington (state) Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States World record setters in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from Seattle Swimmers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportswomen