George Herbert Sheldon (May 17, 1874 – November 25, 1907) was an American diver who competed in the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

and won the inaugural

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

diving competition. Sheldon was an eye doctor from

St. Louis, MO St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

, who had studied at the Barnes Medical College in

. Through most of his life he had suffered from a weak heart which would eventually result in his death. In the 1904 Olympics he won the gold medal in platform diving but faced controversy as his victory was contested by the Germans. The German competitors were more like stunt divers which was entertaining but on entry into the water they often landed on their bellies or legs, while the American team concentrated more on the entry rather than ''fancy diving''. It was not until a week later that the Games director

James E. Sullivan James Edward Sullivan (8 November 1862 – 16 September 1914) was an American sports official of Irish descent. He was one of the founders of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) on Jan 21, 1888, serving as its secretary from 1889 until 1906 whe ...

rejected the protests and declared Sheldon the winner. A year later in 1905, Sheldon won the National AAU diving championships, which was the first using the diving rule book and allowed international divers, however he was prevented from trying to regain the title due to his heart problems while training. On November 25, 1907, aged just 33 years old Sheldon died in his home city of St Louis due to a heart lesion.

Wallechinsky, David David Wallechinsky (born David Wallace, February 5, 1948) is an American populist historian and television commentator, the president of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and the founder and editor-in-chief of AllGov.com and ...

(2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'',

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

: Sport Classic Books. In 1989, Sheldon was honored by the International Swimming Hall of Fame for being a pioneer diver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheldon, George 1874 births 1907 deaths Olympic gold medalists for the United States in diving Divers at the 1904 Summer Olympics American male divers Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics

See also

References