Otto Wahle

Wahle aged just 20 years old competed in three events at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France,[1][3] he competed in the Men's 200 metre freestyle and won his heat, but for some unknown reason he didn't compete in the final.[4] He also entered the Men's 1000 metre freestyle; in his heat he came second behind Hungarian, Zoltán Halmay, but still qualified for the final the next day.[5] In the final he was beaten by John Arthur Jarvis from Great Britain, but ahead of Zoltán Halmay to win the silver medal.[6] Wahle also won a silver medal in the Men's 200 metre obstacle event. After winning his heat[7] he just missed out on the gold medal by under two seconds to Australian, Frederick Lane.[8]

In 1901 he moved to New York City and was taken in by the New York Athletic Club.[2][9] Three years later he was competing at the 1904 Summer Olympics.[10][1] The Games were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and again Wahle entered three events. In his three events there wasn't any heats; in the Men's 1 mile freestyle he finished in fourth place.[11] He finished in fifth place in the Men's 880 yard freestyle,[12] but managed to win a bronze medal in the Men's 440 yard freestyle finishing behind Charles Daniels and Francis Gailey.[13]

In 1906, Wahle became a US citizen. He would later become the American swimming team coach for the 1912 Summer Olympics, where he coached future Gen. George S. Patton Jr. for the swimming event in the pentathlon.[14] At the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics he was the coach of the American water polo team.[2][9]

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.[14]

He died in 1963 in Forest Hills, Queens, and was inducted in to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968.[9][2]

• List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• List of select Jewish swimmers