Martha Norelius
Martha Norelius was a pioneering Swedish-American swimmer born on January 20, 1908, in Stockholm. She showcased exceptional talent from a young age, being coached by her father, Charles Norelius, a former competitive swimmer. Martha began her competitive career at just fourteen and quickly made a name for herself, notably adopting a swimming style that mimicked male athletes. At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, she won a gold medal in the newly introduced 400-meter freestyle event, setting an Olympic record in the process. She successfully defended her title at the 1928 Olympics, becoming the first woman to win consecutive golds in the same event. Over her short career from 1922 to 1929, Norelius set an impressive twenty-nine world records and was recognized for her dominance in the sport. Following her transition to professional swimming, she continued to excel, winning substantial prizes and eventually marrying fellow athlete Joe Wright. Norelius's contributions to swimming were honored with her induction into multiple Halls of Fame before her passing in 1955.
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Subject Terms
Martha Norelius
- Born: January 20, 1908
- Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
- Died: September 23, 1955
- Place of death: St. Louis, Missouri
Sport: Swimming
Early Life
Martha Norelius was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 20, 1908. Her family moved to the United States, where she grew up. Her father, Charles, had been a middle-distance swimmer who competed for Sweden in the 1906 Interim Games in Athens, Greece. He introduced Martha to swimming when she was five years old and became her first coach. He continued to coach for sixty-three years.
The Road to Excellence
Martha distinguished herself early as a good swimmer and was coached by International Swimming Hall of Famer Louis de Breda Handley. Martha began her competitive career in 1922, at the age of fourteen. She always wore a cap, and a story has been told that she was once left on the starting block when the gun was shot, still putting on her cap, but won nevertheless.
In addition to her many accomplishments, Martha became known for her ability to swim with a man’s style. She adopted Johnny Weissmuller’s six-beat kick, high-head position, and arched-back style of swimming.
The Emerging Champion
Martha emerged as an international champion in the 1924 Olympic Games of Paris, winning her first gold medal at the age of sixteen in the 400-meter freestyle. The 1924 Games were the first time that the event had been included in the Olympic Games. In the 1920 Games, the distance for the freestyle was 300 yards. To win the medal, Martha pulled away from Helen Wainwright and the well-known Gertrude Ederle, both of the United States, in the last 15 meters of the race. She established an Olympic record with a time of 6 minutes 2.2 seconds. The U.S. sweep of the medals was especially impressive given the restriction that had been imposed on the female swimmers by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Because of their concern for the safety of the young women, the American officials decided to house them outside Paris. As a consequence, several hours were required traveling to and from the site of the competition.
Martha continued to break records after her victory in Paris. During the summer of 1927, she set twenty-nine swimming records, from 50 meters to marathon distances. In the 1928 Olympics, she swam a 5-minute 45.4-second opening heat of the 400-meter freestyle to break her own world record and defended her title in the finals, again in a world-record time of 5 minutes 42.8 seconds. In so doing, she defeated Maria Braun of the Netherlands for the gold medal.
Continuing the Story
Martha dominated swimming during her career, which lasted from 1922 to 1929. She trained at her father’s pools at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, Florida, and the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. In 1929, she gave an exhibition at a pool in Miami, Florida, in which there were professional swimmers, resulting in her suspension from amateur competition by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). She later turned professional and soon thereafter won $10,000 in the 10-mile Wrigley Marathon in Toronto, Canada.
After her amateur career ended, Martha married Joe Wright, who had been a silver medalist for Canada in the double sculls at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In 1967, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame, and the Citizens Savings Hall of Fame Athletic Museum. She died in 1955.
Summary
Martha Norelius gained initial fame because she trained and swam in a man’s style. With her second gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle in the 1928 Olympic Games, she became the first woman to win gold medals for the same event in successive Olympics. She dominated swimming from 1922 to 1929, setting twenty-nine world records in distances from 50 meters to marathons in the summer of 1927. She is remembered as the fastest woman swimmer for eight years at all distances and as one of the first women to become a professional athlete.
Bibliography
Markel, Robert, Susan Waggoner, and Marcella Smith, eds. The Women’s Sports Encyclopedia. New York: Henry Holt, 1997.
Miller, Ernestine G. Making Her Mark: Firsts and Milestones in Women’s Sports. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2002.
Norelius, Charles, and Martha Norelius. Swimming. Roanoke, Va.: Stone Printing and Manufacturing, 1934.
Sherrow, Victoria, ed. Encyclopedia of Women and Sports. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 1996.