Fighting the Current: The Rise of American Women's Swimming, 1870-1926

Lisa Bier

McFarland, Sep 7, 2011 - Sports & Recreation - 220 pages

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first female to swim the English Channel--and broke the existing record time in doing so. Although today she is considered a pioneer in women's swimming, women were swimming competitively 50 years earlier. This historical book details the early period of women's competitive swimming in the United States, from its beginnings in the nineteenth century through Ederle's astonishing accomplishment. Women and girls faced many obstacles to safe swimming opportunities, including restrictive beliefs about physical abilities, access to safe and clean water, bathing suits that impeded movement and became heavy in water, and opposition from official sporting organizations. The stories of these early swimmers plainly show how far female athletes have come.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• 1 Safe Waters: 3
• 2 Swimming Schools and Kate Bennett New Yorks Swimming Instructor Extraordinaire: 15
• 3 Swimming for All: 19
• 4 Swimming as Spectacle: 29
• 5 The Rise of the Amateur Movement: 40
• 6 International Waters: 46
• 7 The WaterSafety Movement and the Volunteer Life Saving Corps: 53
• 8 Women and the Volunteer Life Saving Corps: 61
• 9 Elaine Golding Rose Pitonof and the Rise of the Female Racer: 69
• 10 The National Womens Life Saving League: 78
• 11 Looking Towards the Olympic Games: 82
• 12 Sullivans Last Stand: 90
• 13 Women Enter the World of Amateur Athletics: 94
• 14 The New York Womens Swimming Association: 102
• 15 Championships and the Beginnings of International Competition: 110
• 16 The 1920 Olympic Games: 115
• 17 Famous Athletes: 120
• 18 The 1924 Olympic Games: 126
• 19 Gertrude Ederle: 135
• 20 The English Channel: 139
• 21 Training: 142
• 22 Gone to Neptune: 148
• 23 Suspicions and Facts: 154
• 24 Turning Professional: 159
• 25 Try Try Again: 162
• 26 The Channel Again: 168
• 27 Victory: 175
• 28 Homecoming: 183
• Notes: 193
• Bibliography: 207
• Index: 211

About the author

Lisa Bier is a librarian at Southern Connecticut State University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Fighting the Current: The Rise of American Women's Swimming, 1870-1926
• Author: Lisa Bier
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: McFarland, 2011
• ISBN: 0786487267, 9780786487264
• Length: 220 pages
• Subjects: History / General; Social Science / Women's Studies; Sports & Recreation / General