Matthew "Matt" Mann II (1884–1962) was a British-born American college swimming coach and was coach of the men's swim team in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

that won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. He learnt to swim at eight in his hometown of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England, at the public bath house. He could afford to swim there once a week, on 'dirty water days', when it only cost a penny. Otherwise, he swam in the outdoor sluiceways that drained from the wool mills. He became England's boy champion at 9 and a senior champion at 14. In his early 20s, he emigrated penniless to North America, with his International Swimming Hall of Fame biography stating: "Matt emigrated steerage to the USA, was stopped at Ellis Island for insufficient funds, shipped to Toronto in a sealed railroad car with $2.00 left in his pocket. Walking down Yonge Street, he found a room for $1.00 a week, then bought a week's meal tickets in a bean wagon for his other dollar. 'I was on top of the world,' said Matt. 'I had no money but my needs were taken care of and I had a whole week to look for a job.'" He was head coach at the Detroit Athletic Club's swim team and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

before going on to coach 13

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion swimming teams at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

. He was head coach of the U.S. Men's Swimming Team at the

. He was one of the 21 people to be 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 ...

when it was formed in 1965; he was one of only two coaches (with Robert Kiphuth) and two Britons (with English Channel swimmer Captain

Matthew Webb Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English swimmer and stuntman. He is the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. In 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in l ...

) to be inducted. Coach Mann was the founder and owner of the first ever sport-specific summer camp. He purchased land along a lake in Canada and opened a boys swim camp, Camp Chikopi, in 1920. Many coaching peers and friends would attend the summer camp and a number of Olympic athletes (at least 30 by 1965) from many nations trained and developed there. Coach Mann and his wife, Lea (Block) Mann, operated Camp Chikopi until Matt's death in 1962. In 1961, the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (MISCA) honored Matt Mann by creating an award in his honor. The award is presented annually to a swim coach who demonstrates continued leadership, contributions, and service to Michigan High School Swimming.

References

External links

International Swimming Hall of Fame BiographyMichigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Matthew 1884 births 1962 deaths British emigrants to the United States English swimming coaches American swimming coaches Harvard Crimson swimming coaches Michigan Wolverines swimming coaches Oklahoma Sooners swimming coaches Yale Bulldogs swimming coaches

See also

References

External links