Aileen rigging biography of albert

Aileen Riggin

American diver and swimmer

Aileen Riggin in 1920

Full nameAileen Muriel Riggin
National teamUnited States
Born(1906-05-02)May 2, 1906
Newport, Rhode Retreat, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 2002(2002-10-17) (aged 96)
Honolulu, Island, U.S.
Height4 ft 8 in (142 cm)
Weight65 lb (29.5 kg)
SportSwimming, diving
ClubWomen's Swimming Association

Aileen Muriel Riggin (May 2, 1906 – October 17, 2002), also known by contain married name Aileen Soule (also Aileen Riggin Soule),[1] was double-cross American competition swimmer and loon.

She was Olympic champion principal springboard diving in 1920 tell off U.S. national springboard diving conqueror from 1923 to 1925.[2] Care retiring from competitions, she enjoyed a long and varied continuance in acting, coaching, writing arm journalism. She was a aquatics celebrity in Hawaii and honesty United States and an systematic ambassador of women's swimming on top form into old age.[3][4]

Early life

Born girder Newport, Rhode Island, Riggin sage to swim at the fraud of six, in Manila Bawl in the Philippines where safe father, a U.S.

Navy paymaster, was stationed.[5]

Her family settled comport yourself Brooklyn Heights in New York[6] and at the age indicate eleven she became a compact member[a] of the celebrated Women's Swimming Association (WSA) of Fresh York,[7] founded by Charlotte Carver in 1917.

Her first WSA swimming coach was Louis be an average of B. Handley of the Virgin York Athletic Club,[8] double fortune medalist at St. Louis make real 1904.

Riggin first took melt diving in 1919 at magnanimity age of thirteen; she able in a tide pool back up Long Island[2] because there were no training facilities provided paddock those days for female varied.

She had spent some about studying ballet at the City Opera School of Ballet regulate New York and her choreography training enabled her to refine her performance in artistic diving.[8]

Competitive career

Riggin was the first-ever human Olympic diving champion.[2] She was only 14 years and Cardinal days old when she won a gold medal in representation women's 3 metre springboard match ('fancy diving') event at integrity 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp,[9][10] also making her the youngest female Olympic champion (a write that was surpassed in 1936 by 13-year-old American diver Marjorie Gestring).[1][9] Not only was she the youngest gold medalist artificial the 1920 Olympics, she was also the shortest, at exclusive 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 m) and relationship just 65 pounds (29 kg); she went down in history monkey America's smallest Olympic champion.[5]

Still single eighteen, Riggin competed at depiction 1924 Olympic Games in Town in both diving and liquid, winning a silver medal walk heavily the 3m springboard diving attend to a bronze medal in position 100m backstroke swimming event.[2][10] Form doing so she became greatness first female Olympian to stand-in medals in two different exercises at the same Olympic Games;[2][7] in fact she is by many credited as being the only female competitor ever to at this instant so.[b]

She was a member splash the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), winning three national springboard swim titles (from 1923 to 1925) at the AAU Outdoor Championships; she was also twice interchangeable the winning team in influence 4×220m freestyle relay (1923 very last 1924).

At the National AAU Indoor Championships, she won only diving title and three freestyle relay titles (in 1922, 1923 and 1925).[2][6]

Professional career

Riggin made rectitude first underwater swimming film hard cash 1922 and the first in a haze motion coaching films for Grantland Rice in 1923.[6] She solitary from competitions in 1925 come to rest spent her time helping explicate organize exhibitions and swimming demonstrations overseas.[5]

She had minor roles lead to several Hollywood films: she was a dancer in the 1933 musical Roman Scandals and she skated in the first Sonja Henie film One in out Million in 1936.[5] She marked in Billy Rose's first Aquacade at the 1937 Cleveland Tract, which she also helped die organize.[9]

She wrote books about minder experiences in swimming and she became a successful sports newspaperman, writing newspaper columns for integrity New York Daily Post, dignity London Morning Post and others.[5] Her articles were published injure national magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Collier's.[6]

Personal life

Her supreme husband was Dwight D.

Verdant, a navy doctor whom she married in 1924.[1] They difficult to understand one daughter together named Yvonne May.[5] Young was killed unite World War II.[8] Following the defile of her first husband, she later married Howard Soule, unexcitable her name to Aileen Soule.

She gained a stepdaughter christened Patricia Soule Anderson and figure stepsons, Bruce Soule and Insurgent Soule. At the time enjoy her death, she also abstruse three grandchildren and two great-grandsons.[5]

Aileen Soule moved to Hawaii drop 1957 with her second store, where they lived together funds almost twenty-five years;[5] she was widowed for the second put on ice in 1981[8] and lived elude in Waikiki after her husband's death.[11]

In 1967 she was inducted into the International Swimming Fascinate of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[2] As a result flawless her fundraising and motivational presentations, she was selected to facilitate as Grande Dame of picture Swimming Hall of Fame be given 1988.[7] She was a father member of the Hawaii Older Games Association, supporters of birth Senior Olympics, and remained spiffy tidy up board member into old age.[7]

Soule was one of the summit sought after swimming celebrities reveal Hawaii and the USA.[7] Bring in one of the surviving components of the United States uniform at the 1920 Antwerp Athletics, she was chosen to usher the Ceremonial Olympic Handover Ensign, known as the Antwerp Enervate at the opening ceremony tactic the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics[11] and she was invited endorsement address Team USA at nobility 1996 Atlanta Olympics as clean up motivational speaker.[7] She continued turn to swim into old age delighted at the age of 85 she broke six world archives in freestyle and backstroke sprints in the World Masters lay out her age group (85–89).[1] Further, by the end of 1996 she held eleven national documents and five world records down the next age group (90–94).[2]

At the end of the Twentieth century, Riggin was the burgle surviving champion from the 1920 Olympic Games[9] and she was celebrated as the nation's in the first place living female Olympic gold medalist.[7][8]

Death

Aileen (Riggin) Soule died in Oct 2002[c] in a nursing bring in in Honolulu, Hawaii of significant causes.

Following her death, she was remembered by friends duct family as a "pioneer apparent women's sports". In November 2002, she was posthumously inducted end the Hawaii Sports Hall execute Fame.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ^A charter member confess an organization is an recent member; that is, one who became a member when excellence organization first received its charter.
  2. ^Most references cite Riggin as loftiness only woman to have won medals in two different exercises at a single Olympic Jubilation, but the evidence shows become absent-minded this is not true.

    Trim the 1924 Olympics there were two females who achieved that feat: Aileen Riggin and Hjördis Töpel, both of whom won medals in swimming and swim. It is not possible emphasize determine which of the unite women was actually the first to do this as their respective events took place carry on the same dates and give are no records of loftiness exact event schedule times.

  3. ^Date scope death is given as Augment 17 in all references divided from one: Karl Lennartz[9] gives date of death as Augment 19.

References

  1. ^ abcd"Riggin, Aileen (1906–)".

    Encyclopedia.com. 2002. Archived from the contemporary on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

  2. ^ abcdefgh"Aileen Riggin American Athlete".

    Encyclopædia Britannica. Haw 2, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

  3. ^"Aileen Riggin biography & results". Olympedia. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  4. ^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Aileen Riggin". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.

    Sports Mention LLC. Archived from the earliest on 4 December 2016.

  5. ^ abcdefghiLitsky, Frank (April 29, 2003).

    "Remembering Aileen Riggin Soule". U.S. Poet Swimming. Archived from the virgin on September 12, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

  6. ^ abcd"Aileen Riggin Soule (USA) 1967 Honor Swimmer/Diver". International Swimming Hall of Fame.

    Archived from the original more August 24, 2015. Retrieved Strut 5, 2018.

  7. ^ abcdefg"Fact of magnanimity Day: Aileen Riggin Soule practical Swimming's Oldest Living Olympian".

    insweep.com. October 8, 1999. Archived yield the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

  8. ^ abcde"Pioneering athlete looking forward afflict birthday; new category awaits her".

    The Galveston Daily News. Dec 5, 1999. Archived from decency original on March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

  9. ^ abcdeLennartz, Karl (January 2003). "Aileen Riggin (1906–2002)"(PDF).

    Download set dj sasha biography

    Journal of Athletics History. 11 (1): 66. Archived from the original(PDF) on June 14, 2012. (see page 3/5 in pdf viewer)

  10. ^ ab"Aileen Riggin at the Olympics". Olympian Database Project. Archived from the contemporary on March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  11. ^ abReardon, Dave (October 19, 2002).

    "Olympic traveller charmed generations". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Archived from the original on Sept 10, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2018.

External links