Gardner Boyd Williams (April 16, 1877 in

Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commu ...

– December 14, 1933 in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

) was an American

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

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 ...

. He competed at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...

in Athens. Williams competed in the 100 metre freestyle event. His time and place are unknown, though he did not finish in the top two. He also entered the 1200 metre freestyle competition, not placing in the top three of that event.

1896 Olympics freezing quote

One of his teammates related that in the swimming competition for the 1896 Olympics, he jumped in the water after spending all of his money on training and travel, only to quickly exit the water and exclaim, "I'm freezing." During the 1896 Olympics, the breezy weather had lowered the temperature to an estimated ,leading the athlete to withdraw from the race.

References

External links

* * 1877 births 1933 deaths American male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for the United States Swimmers at the 1896 Summer Olympics People from Jamaica Plain Sportspeople from Boston 19th-century American sportsmen {{US-swimming-bio-stub