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What was Gertrude Ederle education?
From a young age, she was passionate about swimming, which she learned at the local public pool and at the New Jersey beach where her family spent summers. As a teen, Ederle left school to train as a competitive swimmer and joined the Women’s Swimming Association.
How did Gertrude Ederle go deaf?
Ederle had a hearing problem since childhood and damaged her hearing during the English Channel swim which caused her eventual deafness. She taught swimming to children at the Lexington School for the Deaf. She never married and lived in New York City with several female friends.
Why did Gertrude Ederle lose her hearing?
When she was very young, she had the measles. Although she survived, the illness gave her severe hearing loss. In the summer, Gertrude’s parents took the children to the beach in New Jersey. Their father taught them to swim in the Atlantic Ocean.
Was Gertrude Ederle deaf?
Ederle, whose hearing was permanently impaired while achieving her English Channel triumph, later became a swimming instructor for deaf children. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965 and the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.
How did Gertrude Ederle make a difference?
In 1926, 19-year-old New Yorker Gertrude Ederle made history by becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel – and in a faster time than the five men who had already achieved the feat.
What did Gertrude Ederle wear when she swam the English Channel?
bathing suit
Wearing a revolutionary two-piece bathing suit and goggles she designed herself, for 14½ hours, Ederle battled 21 miles of frigid water and treacherous tides, beating the fastest man’s existing record by nearly two hours — the first time in sporting history that a woman had completed an event in a faster time than a …
What was Gertrude Ederle known for?
first woman to swim
Gertrude Ederle, in full Gertrude Caroline Ederle, (born October 23, 1905, New York, New York, U.S.—died November 30, 2003, Wyckoff, New Jersey), first woman to swim (1925) the English Channel and one of the best-known American sports personages of the 1920s.
Where did Gertrude Ederle live most of her life?
Parade for Gertrude Ederle coming up Broadway, New York City, with large crowd watching, 1926. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Gertrude Ederle was born on October 23, 1906 in New York City. Her German immigrant parents owned a butcher shop in Manhattan. Gertrude was one of six children.
What did Gertrude Ederle do in the Olympics?
Gertrude Ederle was born in New York City on October 23, 1905. She was a champion swimmer by her late teen years, and she competed in the 1924 Olympics.
When did Gertrude Ederle attempt to swim the English Channel?
In 1925 Ederle made an unsuccessful attempt to swim the English Channel, but the following year she returned to France to try again.
Why was Gertrude Ederle disqualified for the first time?
In her first attempt at the Channel on August 18, 1925, she was disqualified when Wolffe ordered another swimmer (who was keeping her company in the water), Ishak Helmy, to recover her from the water. According to her and other witnesses, she was not “drowning” but resting, floating face-down.