| Bleibtrey held the world record in the 100-yard backstroke when women's swimming was added to the Olympic program in 1920. But the only three events were the 100-meter and 300-meter freestyles and the 4 by 100-meter freestyle relay. So she entered all three and won three gold medals.
Antwerp, Belgium, hosted those Olympics, less than two years after the end of World War I. There were no suitable pools, indoors or outdoors, so the swimming competition was held in a tidal estuary. Bleibtrey said afterward it was like swimming in mud. Nevertheless, she set a world record of 1:14.4 in the third heat of the 100-meter freestyle and she lowered that to 1:13.6 in the final.
Bleibtrey won every race she swam in from 1920 through 1922. She was U. S. outdoor national champion in the 100-yard freestyle in 1920 and 1921; the 440-yard freestyle in 1919 and 1921; the 880-yard freestyle from 1919 through 1921; the 1-mile freestyle in 1920, and the long-distance (3-mile) race in 1921. She won indoor championships in the 100-yard freestyle in 1920 and 1922, and in the 100-yard backstroke in 1920.
In 1919, Bleibtrey broke a rule at Manhattan Beach by taking her stockings off; she was given a summons for "nude swimming." The resultant publicity brought an end to that rule. Nine years later, as part of a campaign for more public swimming facilities in New York City, she was jailed for swimming in the Central Park Reservoir. Not long afterward, the city opened its first large public pool. |
USA