Owen Porter Churchill (March 8, 1896 – November 22, 1985) was an American

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

who competed in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. In 1932 he was a crew member of the American boat ''Angelita'' which won the gold medal in the 8 metre class.

Swim Fin

In 1940 Churchill designed and patented the

swim fin Swim or SWIM may refer to: Movement and sport * Swim, a fad dance * Aquatic locomotion, the act of biologically propelled motion through a liquid medium * Human swimming, the useful or recreational activity of movement through water * Swimming ...

improving it from the earlier version made by

Louis de Corlieu Louis Marie de Corlieu, born November 23, 1888 in Bourges and died October 19, 1967 (1971?) in Paris, was a French naval officer and inventor of the swimfin. Military service He served as Capitaine de corvette (lieutenant commander) in the French ...

in 1935. With skin-diving's low popularity in America, he sold under a thousand pairs. He thought of the idea from seeing Tahitian boys using the same concept. They would use soft rubber and metal bands shaped like a fish tail. Churchill improved the shape and used

vulcanized rubber Vulcanization (British: Vulcanisation) is a range of processes for hardening rubbers. The term originally referred exclusively to the treatment of natural rubber with sulfur, which remains the most common practice. It has also grown to includ ...

. The income from his then-patented and now-commonplace device let him pursue his passion of competitive sailing. Churchill became the primary patron and team captain of the United States Olympic Yachting team at both the 1932 (

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' ...

) and 1936 (

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

)

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Churchill was also a lifetime member of Los Angeles Yacht Club, where memorabilia of his exploits has been on display. During the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, special recognition was given to Churchill by

Peter Ueberroth Peter Victor Ueberroth (; born September 2, 1937) is an American sports and business executive known for his involvement in the Olympics and in Major League Baseball. A Los Angeles-based businessman, he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Olymp ...

for his lifelong efforts to promote sailing. Churchill's Star Fleet yacht, The Angelita, was fully restored for the occasion and re-christened at the time in Los Angeles harbor.

References

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profile
1896 births 1985 deaths American male sailors (sport) Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in sailing Los Angeles Yacht Club sailors Sailors at the 1928 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre Sailors at the 1932 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre Sailors at the 1936 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre {{US-yachtracing-Olympic-medalist-stub