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Otto Wahle
Austrian swimmer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Otto Wahle (5 November 1879 – 11 August 1963) was an Austrian-American swimmer[1] who took part in two Summer Olympic Games and won a total of three medals.[2] 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.[3]
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1900 Paris Olympics
At age 20, Wahle participated in three events at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.[1][4] He competed in the 200 metre freestyle and won his heat, but, for an unknown reason, he did not compete in the final.[5]
1000 metre Silver medal
He entered the 1000 metre freestyle, finishing second behind Hungarian swimmer Zoltán Halmay, qualifying for the final the next day.[6] In the final he was beaten by John Arthur Jarvis from Great Britain but finished ahead of Halmay to win the silver medal.[7]
200 metre silver medal
Wahle also won a silver medal in the 200 metre obstacle event. After winning his heat,[8] Wahle missed the gold medal by under two seconds to Australian swimmer Frederick Lane.[9]
In 1901, Wahle moved to New York City and became a member of the legendary New York Athletic Club.[2][10]
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1904 St. Louis Olympics
Three years later, he competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics,[11][1] held in St. Louis, Missouri, entering three events. He finished fourth in the 1 mile freestyle,[12] and fifth in the 880 yard freestyle.[13]
440-yard bronze medal
Wahle won a bronze medal in the 440 yard freestyle, finishing behind Americans Charles Daniels and Francis Gailey.[14]
Coaching career and later life
In 1906, Wahle became a US citizen. He worked as the American swimming team coach for the 1912 Summer Olympics, where he coached future Gen. George S. Patton Jr. for the swimming portion of the pentathlon.[15] At the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics, he was the coach of the American water polo team.[2][10]
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.[15]
He died in 1963 in Forest Hills, Queens, and was inducted in to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968.[10][2] In 1990, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.[16][17]
See also
References
External links
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