Adolph Kiefer: Difference between revisions

| nicknames = "Sonny Boy" "Old Man Kiefer"

| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], IllinoisU.S.

| death_place = [[Wadsworth, Illinois|Wadsworth]], IllinoisU.S.

{{MedalCountry | Unitedthe States{{USA}}}}

'''Adolph Gustav Kiefer''' (June 27, 1918 – May 5, 2017)<ref name=NYT/> was an American competition swimmer, Olympic competitor, the last surviving gold medalist of the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] and former world record-holder. He was the first man in the world to swim the 100-yard backstroke in under one minute.<ref name="CNN">{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/06/us/olympic-swimmer-adolph-kiefer-dies/index.html|title=America's oldest living Olympic champion Adolph Kiefer dies at 98|last=Chavez|first=Nicole|date=May 6, 2017|website=CNN|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=May 6, 2017|quote=Kiefer's record-breaking career began when he was a 16-year-old high school student. He was the first person in the world to break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard backstroke – and months later he became the youngest member of the US Olympic team.}}</ref> Kiefer was also an inventor and innovator of new products related to aquatics competition.

Kiefer was born as a son of German immigrants in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], Illinois, and there attended [[Theodore Roosevelt High School (Chicago, Illinois)|Roosevelt High School]] (1936). He then attended the [[University of Texas at Austin]] (1939), and [[Columbia College, Columbia University]] (1940).<ref>TexasSports.com, Men's Hall of Honor, [http://www.texassports.com/genrel/kiefer_adolph00.html Adolph Kiefer]. Retrieved October 6, 2012.</ref>

Kiefer became the first man to break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard backstroke while competing as a 16-year-old in the Illinois High School Championships of 1935, swimming 59.8 seconds. His 1936 Illinois state championship backstroke time of 58.5 seconds was the Illinois state high-school record until 1960. On April 6, 1940, Kiefer set another world record, swimming the 100-yard backstroke in 57.9 seconds. He broke twenty-three records after breaking the one-minute backstroke mark.<ref name=sroprofile/> Kiefer set a world record for the 100-meter backstroke of 1:04.8 on January 18, 1936, at Brennan Pools in Detroit, Michigan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/usa-swimming-1936-100-backstroke-gold-medalist-adolph-kiefer-turns-98-usa-swimming-1936-gold-medalist-adolph-kiefer-turns-98/|title=USA Swimming 1936 100 Backstroke Gold Medalist Adolph Kiefer Turns 98|last=|first=|date=June 27, 2016|work=Swimming World News|access-date=May 8, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

Eighteen-year-old Kiefer represented the United States at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in Berlin, Germany.<ref name=sroprofile>Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417170118/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ki/adolph-kiefer-1.html Adolph Kiefer]. Retrieved October 6, 2012.</ref> On August 14, Kiefer won the gold medal in the [[Swimming at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre backstroke|men's 100-meter backstroke]].<ref name=sroprofile/> He set new Olympic records in the first-round heats (1:06.9), the second-round heats (1:06.8), and the event final (1:05.9). His Olympic Record would stand for over 20 years, finally broken by [[David Theile]] in the 1956 Summer Olympics.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Kiefer returned home a national hero, and began traveling with other U.S. Olympic medalists on a tour of Europe, China, Japan, and South America, during which he challenged other great swimmers in those locations to individual races.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In over 2,000 races, Kiefer lost only twice. At the National AAU swimming championship in April 1943, University of Michigan All-American swimmer [[Harry Holiday|Harry Holiday, Jr.]] finally went head-to-head with world-record holder Kiefer. Holiday beat him in the 150-yard backstroke at the AAU meet.<ref>{{cite news|url=|title=Buckeyes Win AAU Swim Title: Michigan Second, Yale Finishes Third|last=|first=|date=April 4, 1943|work=|access-date=|publisher=Wisconsin State Journal}}</ref> The defeat was the first for Kiefer in eight years.<ref>{{cite news|url=|title=Kiefer Draws First Defeat In 8 Years: Chicago Veteran Swimmer Humbled by Holiday of Michigan|last=|first=|date=April 4, 1943|work=|access-date=|publisher=Syracuse Herald-American}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=|title=Smith, Holiday Take Swim Title|last=|first=|date=April 5, 1943|work=|access-date=|publisher=London Stars and Stripes}}</ref>

In his first two months of varsity competition, Holiday broke two of Kiefer's world records, lowering the 100-yard backstroke mark to 57 seconds and the 200-meter standard to 2:22.9.<ref>{{cite news|url=|title=Breaks 2 World Records|last=|first=|date=May 5, 1943|work=|access-date=|publisher=The Sheboygan Press}}</ref> In August 1943, the NCAA also recognized Holiday as the holder of the new world record in the 150-yard backstroke with a mark of 1:31.5.<ref>{{cite news|url=|title=Swim Records Approved: 15 New Marks Set Last Season|last=|first=|date=August 10, 1943|work=|access-date=|publisher=Reno Evening Gazette}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, Kiefer was asked to audition for the role of [[Tarzan in film and other non-print media|"Tarzan"]], but answered the call of arms instead, joiningjoined the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] instead.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Kiefer joined the U.S. Navy as a [[Chief petty officer (United States)|Chief Petty Officer]] in late 1943 and was initially assigned to the physical fitness and swimming division of the [[Bureau of Naval Personnel|United States Navy's Bureau of Naval Personnel]] (BUPERS) as a Chief Athletics Specialist.<ref name=kieferfoundprofile/> When the Navy realized that it was losing more lives to drowning than to enemy bullets, Kiefer was appointed to a committee to set new guidelines for safety and training. He quickly moved through the ranks, becoming Officer in Charge of Swimming for the entire U.S. Navy, training over 13,000 navy swim instructors to do the "Victory backstroke", a term Kiefer coined himself.<ref name=CNN/> Victory backstroke was a simplified version of the modern backstroke that allowed novice swimmers to breathe easily (on their backs) while leveraging what Adolph considered to be a more buoyant stroke style for novice swimmers. Victory backstroke was performed with both arms underwater, sweeping down simultaneously (instead of using alternating arms), while using a freestyle kick. The American Red Cross would later add Victory Backstroke to their swim training protocols.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

By the war's end, he had reached the rank of [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]], Senior Grade.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In 1947, he established Adolph Kiefer & Associates, Inc. in Chicago, which has provided swimmers with training, safety, and competition equipment.<ref name=kieferfoundprofile>Kiefer & Associates, [http://www.kiefer.com/our-founder-pages-317.php Our Founder – Adolph Kiefer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411083015/https://www.kiefer.com/our-founder-pages-317.php |date=April 11, 2015 }}. Retrieved October 6, 2012.</ref> His companybrother, Edward Kiefer, was responsible for the development of the nylon tank suit in 1948.<ref>DeFord, Frank (August 13, 2008) "[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93539864 The Swimming Legend You Never Heard Of]," National Public Radio. Retrieved October 6, 2012.</ref> and debuted the first nylon swimsuit supplied to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team—a marked improvement over the wool and cotton suits available at the time.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Kiefer subsequently devoted himself to community service, especially combining swimming and philanthropy in innovative ways. In the 1960s he worked with Mayor [[Richard J. Daley]] to build swimming-pools across the inner city of Chicago, providing the facilities needed for thousands of children to learn to swim. Kiefer actively supported [[Swim Across America]], a nonprofit organization that raises funds for cancer research, and participated in SAA public swimming events well into his 70s and 80s.<ref name=saaprofile>Swim Across America, Olympians, [http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Olympians_Adolf_Kiefer Adolph Kiefer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527002347/http://www.swimacrossamerica.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Olympians_Adolf_Kiefer |date=May 27, 2012 }}. Retrieved October 6, 2012.</ref>

Kiefer was an "Honor Swimmer" member of the inaugural class inducted into the [[International Swimming Hall of Fame]] in 1965.<ref name=ishofprofile>International{{cite Swimming Hall of Fame,web Honorees, [|url=http://www.ishof.org/adolph-kiefer-(usa).html |title=Adolph Kiefer] |website=ISHOF.org |publisher=[[International RetrievedSwimming Hall of Fame]] |access-date=April 12, 2015 |archive-date=October 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028145706/http://www.ishof.org/adolph-kiefer-(usa).html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1966 he patented the first design for a no-wave, non-turbulence racing lane.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

On the morning of May 5, 2017, Kiefer died at home in [[Wadsworth, Illinois|Wadsworth]], Illinois, at the age of 98.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-adolph-kiefer-obit-20170505-story.html|title=Adolph Kiefer, America's oldest Olympic champion, dies at 98|last=|first=|date=May 5, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=May 8, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref name=NYT>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/sports/olympics/adolph-kiefer-dead-olympic-swimming-champion.html|title=Adolph Kiefer, a Gold Medal Backstroker in the 1936 Olympics, Dies at 98|last=Litsky|first=Frank|date=May 5, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 8, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

[[Category:AmericanUnited navalStates Navy personnel of World War II]]

[[Category:OlympicSwimmers swimmersfrom of the United StatesChicago]]

[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]