The Knickerbocker News of July 30, 1952, had an article by Julius J. Heller reminding readers of the important career of championship swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Ethelda Bleibtrey, who was born in and grew up in Waterford.
When a slim, 16-year-old [sic: she was 18] girl plunged into the water at Antwerp, Belgium, in the 1920 Olympiad, the resulting splash not only put the name of Waterford on front pages throughout the world – it also marked the beginning of an era of women’s prominence in international sports.
The swimmer was Ethelda Bleibtrey, a Waterford undertaker’s platinum blonde, blue-eyed daughter, who became the first American girl – and one of the first women in the world – to gain international fame as a swimmer.
Ethelda’s Olympic triumph, followed by more victories in the next two years when she toured the world in competition before turning professional, did much to promote athletic competition among the “weaker sex.” Her followers included such feminine stars as Ethel Lackie, Martha Norelius, Helene Madison, Helen Meaney, Helen Wainwright – and the great Gertrude Ederle, who, six years later, conquered the English Channel.
Now 48 [sic: 50], and still championing women’s sports, the former Ethelda Bleibtrey cherishes a vivid recollection of her triumphal reception in her native Waterford 32 years ago, with Mayor Lussier leading the Saratoga County community’s 3,000 exulting citizens in a parade down Broad St.
Today she is Mrs. Albert P. Schlafke, residing in a modest home at 120 Belleterre Ave., E. Lindhurst, L.I., the wife of a compositor on a New York City newspaper. Her husband was an automobile racing driver until injuries forced him out of competition.
Mrs. Ethelda Bleibtrey Schlafke can be found every day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the pool of the Strathmore Vanderbilt Country Club, former Vanderbilt estate, at Manhasset, L.I. There she is the operator of the pool with a special devotion to teaching youngsters, although many adults are her pupils.
In the off-season, and whenever time permits, she is engaged in physio-therapy work among cerebral palsy and polio afflicted at St. Charles Hospital, Port Jefferson.
The platinum of Ethelda’s hair hasn’t turned to the matron gray. It is somewhat on the straw or yellowish side now. But the famous slim Bleibtrey figure is retained. Her energy is boundless; her swimming flawless.
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