United States continues strong showing in and on the water

Antwerp, 30 August 1920 - The swimming events ended today and the American team dominated the events.

In the women’s 100m and 300m races American Ethelda Bleibtrey took home gold, with the U.S. also taking home the silver and bronze in both. The Americans cemented their dominance by winning the 400m relay race in which they lowered the world record time previously held by Great Britain by 41 seconds. Such was their comfort in the water that some American papers dubbed the women the ‘U.S. Mermaids’.

Members of the American women's swimming team dubbed the 'U.S. Mermaids' by the press. Left to right: Eleanor Uhl, Margaret Woodbridge, Helen Moses, Charlotte Boyle, Helen Wainwright, Francis Carrol Shroth, Ethelda Bleibtrey and Irene Guest (Image: Atlanta Constitution, 26 August 1920)

The men also broke world records in their 800m relay, with Australia in second and Great Britain in third.

America continued their strong showing in the rowing regatta held in the afternoon, winning three out of the five events. They lost the first event, the coxed four, to the Swiss. Then, Irish-American athlete John B. Kelly and Britain's Jack Beresford had a fierce battle for the single sculls; it was neck and neck all the way, but Kelly got in front close to home and just about kept his advantage. The Americans won the double sculls and the eights, while Italy took home gold in the coxed pairs.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]