Fighting the Current

The Rise of American Women's Swimming, 1870-1926

Lisa Bier (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

220 Seiten

2011
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-4028-3 (ISBN)

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Describes the origins of women's competitive swimming in the United States, beginning in the nineteenth century.Women faced many obstacles to safe swimming opportunities, including beliefs about physical abilities, access to safe and clean water, bathing suits that did not allow for movement, and opposition from sporting organizations. This is a testament to how far female athletes have come.

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.

Lisa Bier is a librarian at Southern Connecticut State University.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Safe Waters

2. Swimming Schools and Kate Bennett, New York’s Swimming Instructor Extraordinaire

3. Swimming for All

4. Swimming as Spectacle

5. The Rise of the Amateur Movement

6. International Waters

7. The Water-Safety Movement and the Volunteer Life Saving Corps

8. Women and the Volunteer Life Saving Corps

9. Elaine Golding, Rose Pitonof, and the Rise of the Female Racer

10. The National Women’s Life Saving League

11. Looking Towards the Olympic Games

12. Sullivan’s Last Stand

13. Women Enter the World of Amateur Athletics

14. The New York Women’s Swimming Association

15. Championships and the Beginnings of International Competition

16. The 1920 Olympic Games

17. Famous Athletes

18. The 1924 Olympic Games

19. Gertrude Ederle

20. The English Channel

21. Training

22. Gone to Neptune

23. Suspicions and Facts

24. Turning Professional

25. Try, Try Again

26. The Channel Again

27. Victory

28. Homecoming

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Zusatzinfo	26 photographs
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 226 mm
Gewicht	310 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Segeln / Tauchen / Wassersport
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Gender Studies
ISBN-10	0-7864-4028-7 / 0786440287
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-4028-3 / 9780786440283
Zustand	Neuware