Albert Joseph Vande Weghe (July 28, 1916 – August 13, 2002) 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 ...
and Olympic silver medalist.
As a 20-year-old high school senior at the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
in Berlin, Germany, he won the silver medal in the
men's 100-meter backstroke.
[Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes]
Al Vande Weghe
Retrieved January 29, 2013. Vande Weghe finished second behind fellow American
Adolph Kiefer
Adolph Gustav Kiefer (June 27, 1918 – May 5, 2017) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic competitor, the last surviving gold medalist of the 1936 Summer Olympics and former world record-holder. He was the first man in the world to swi ...
and recorded a time of 1:07.7.
[Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games]
Men's 100 metres Backstroke Final
Retrieved January 29, 2013. Like Kiefer, Vande Weghe never achieved his full potential as a swimmer after his competition career was interrupted by military service during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
He was known for being the first man to swim the 100-yard backstroke in under a minute, and for the competitive advantage he gained in the turn by inventing the flip turn
A tumble turn or flip turn is one of the turns in swimming, used to reverse the direction in which the person is swimming. It is done when the swimmer reaches the end of the swimming pool but still has one or more lengths to swim.
The technique's ...
.
After the Olympics, Vande Weghe attended Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
, where he swam for the Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in m ...
swimming and diving team.
He swam for four years without ever losing a college dual meet, and won the NCAA national championship in the 150-yard backstroke three consecutive years. He graduated from Princeton with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1940.
Vande Weghe 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 ...
as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1990.[International Swimming Hall of Fame, Honorees]
Albert Vande Weghe (USA)
. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
See also
* List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
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 a ...
* List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Men's events 50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
200 metre ...
* List of Princeton University Olympians
This is a list of Princeton University alumni who competed in the Olympic Games. In this list, the term athletics refers to track and field.
Summer Olympians
#Robert Garrett, class of 1897, men's athletics, 1896 Athens Olympics, 1900 Paris Oly ...
* List of Princeton University people
This list of Princeton University people include notable alumni (graduates and attendees) or faculty members (professors of various ranks, researchers, and visiting lecturers or professors) affiliated with Princeton University. People who have g ...
References
1916 births
2002 deaths
American male backstroke swimmers
American military personnel of World War II
American people of Flemish descent
American people of Dutch descent
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming
Princeton Tigers men's swimmers
Sportspeople from New York City
Swimmers at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics
20th-century American people
21st-century American people
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