Otto Wahle (5 November 1879 – 11 August 1963) was an Austrian-American swimmer who took part in two

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

and won a total of three medals. Wahle coached the men's US swim team at the 1912 Olympics, and the men's US water polo team at the 1920 and 1924 Olympics.

Swimming career

At age 20, Wahle competed in three events at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He competed in the 200 metre freestyle and won his heat, but, for an unknown reason, he did not compete in the final. He also entered the 1000 metre freestyle; in his heat he came second behind Hungarian swimmer

Zoltán Halmay Zoltán Imre Ödön Halmay de Erdőtelek (; 18 June 1881, Magasfalu – 20 May 1956, Budapest) was a Hungarian Olympic swimmer. He competed in four Olympics (1900 – 1908), winning the following medals: * 1900: silver (200 m, ...

, but he still qualified for the final the next day. In the final he was beaten by

John Arthur Jarvis John Arthur Jarvis (24 February 1872 – 9 May 1933) was an English competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in three Olympic Games, and was a well-known amateur athlete of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He participated ...

from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

but finished ahead of Halmay to win the silver medal. Wahle also won a silver medal in the 200 metre obstacle event. After winning his heat, Wahle missed the gold medal by under two seconds to

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

swimmer

Frederick Lane Frederick Claude Vivian Lane (2 February 1880 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian swimmer who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, was four years old when his brother saved him from drowning in Sydney Harbou ...

. In 1901, Wahle moved to New York City and was taken in by the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

. Three years later, he competed at 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 ...

. The Games were held in

St. Louis 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 e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and again Wahle entered three events. He finished in fourth place in the 1 mile freestyle, and he finished in fifth place in the 880 yard freestyle. Wahle won a bronze medal in the 440 yard freestyle, finishing behind Charles Daniels and

Francis Gailey Francis "Frank" Gailey (21 January 1882 – 10 July 1972) was an Australian-born American competition swimmer who swam in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri. Gailey was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, but later em ...

Coaching career and later life

In 1906, Wahle became a US citizen. He became the American swimming team coach for the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

, where he coached future Gen.

George S. Patton Jr. George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a General (United States), general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, Mediterranean Theater ...

for the swimming event in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

. At the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

and

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

, he was the coach of the American water polo team. Wahle played a major role in the growth of swimming as a competitive sport in the United States and wrote many of the rules listed in early Amateur Athletic Union manuals. He died in 1963 in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, ...

, and was inducted in to 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 ...

in 1968. In 1990, he was inducted into the

USA Water Polo Hall of Fame The USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, located in Irvine, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring players, coaches and officials who have contributed greatly to the game of water polo in the United States of America. It was established in 1976 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wahle, Otto 1879 births 1963 deaths Swimmers from Vienna Jewish American sportspeople Jewish swimmers Olympic swimmers of Austria Swimmers at the 1900 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1904 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Austria Olympic bronze medalists for Austria Jewish Austrian sportspeople American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Austrian male freestyle swimmers Olympic silver medalists in swimming American water polo coaches Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States Male long-distance swimmers

Swimming career

Coaching career and later life

See also

References

External links