Maria "Marie" Johanna Philipsen-Braun (22 June 1911 – 23 June 1982), also known as Zus Braun, was a Dutch swimmer. She competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, winning a gold medal in the 100 m

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

and a silver in the 400 m freestyle in 1928. She failed to reach the finals of these events at the 1932 Games due to a sudden illness during the preliminary heats. During her career Braun set six world and 25 national records. Braun was the daughter of the prominent Dutch swimming coach

Ma Braun Maria Johanna "Ma" Braun (Delfshaven, 28 December 1881 – Rotterdam, 9 October 1956) was a Dutch swimming coach. She led the Dutch women's swimming team at the 1928–1952 Olympics and at the European championships in between, with her trainees ...

. She had her first international success at the 1927 European Championships, where she won one gold and two bronze medals in the 100 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle and 100 m backstroke. She won gold medals in these events at the next European championships in 1931. After these wins snd her medals at the 1928 Olympics, Braun was a favorite at the 1932 Olympics. However after swimming 400 m heats she was hospitalized with a strong fever, and retired from swimming shortly after that. In 1980, she 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 ...

Suspected poisoning

During the 1932 Olympic swimming competition in Los Angeles, Braun suddenly became very ill and was hospitalized for three weeks with a high fever. When she returned to Nederlands, she gave a press statement stating that between events, she suddenly felt a pain in her leg and that two young American men who had been sitting in front of her in the stands and had been watching her suspiciously, "disappeared". There was a suspicion this was linked to illegal gambling on the final events.

References

1911 births 1982 deaths Dutch female freestyle swimmers Dutch female backstroke swimmers Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Olympic swimmers of the Netherlands Swimmers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Rotterdam Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming 20th-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-swimming-bio-stub

Suspected poisoning

See also

References