Joan Rosazza - Olympic swimmer - 1956

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Joan Rosazza’s Olympic Journey is now in book form

Do you have a young swimmer on your gift list? Or an amateur sports fan? Someone with local roots to Torrington Connecticut, Purdue University, or Melbourne Australia? Then, please discover this Olympic success story. Joan Rosazza’s Olympic endeavor is summed up like this. “How did a girl raised in a town with no sports for girls get to stand on the medal box at the Olympic Games and receive a Silver Medal from the Prince of Denmark. Not on her own.”The paperback and kindle versions are discounted 25% for the season. You can order the kindle version right up to the last minute! There’s a new cover and new photo of Joan on it.

Here is where to get it.

https://a.co/d/bEZxIqV

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Joan Rosazza's Silver Medal won at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia

...

At 8:20 pm in the evening of 6-December-1956 in Melbourne, Australia a swimming race took place. 

Four American girls challenged the heavily favored Australians in the 4 x 100 Meter Freestyle relay.

This is the story of that race.

And, of the beginnings, years before, at a small town YMCA where a girls swim team was formed by another Olympian...

...then, onto Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.  A brief stop in Detroit, Michigan for the Olympic Trials.  Then, a hop, skip, and a jump to Melbourne, Australia for the Summer Olympics. 

A journey.

Not completely on her own.

The interview that follows was recorded recently in Concord, Massachusetts, USA.  

I'd like to thank Joan for graciously sharing her story and for many of the images, including the one above.

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Here are the Titles to the 12 parts:

Part 1 - The Beginning Part 2 - "Three Doors that opened for me" Part 3 - "...I knew I had a chance for the Olympics" Part 4 - Swimming Technique Part 5 - The Birth of the Butterfly Part 6 - Women's Sports in America - Title IX Part 7 - Resting, Tapers... and Adrenaline Part 8 - The Olympic Trials in Detroit, Michigan Part 9 - The Olympic Races - the 100 Meter Freestyle Part 10 - World Politics at the Olympics - the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Part 11 - World Politics at the Olympics - The Hungarian Swimmers and the Hungary vs. Russia Water Polo Match - the "Blood in the Water" match Part 12 - The Olympic Races - the Women's 4 x 100 Meter Freestyle Relay Addenda - Photos and images

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 1 - The Beginning

“How did a girl, raised in a town with no sports for girls, get to stand on the medal box at the Olympics and receive a Silver Medal from the Prince of Denmark?  Not on her own.”

- Joan Rosazza

Indeed.

This is the title of a talk Joan has given to audiences about life, sports, and inspiration.  

Born in Torrington, Connecticut, USA, and now living in Massachusetts with her family, Joan graciously agreed to be interviewed about her early life in swimming and the journey to the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia in 1956.

(Editor's Note: My part: I hail from Torrington, Connecticut and know Joan’s family and her swimming accomplishments.  - Bill Ryan)  

The state of girls sports in the 1950’s:

There were very few opportunities for girls in organized sports.  As Joan mentions there were no swimming teams, no basketball teams, no Little League Baseball for girls.  

Joan was fortunate that she played sports with her three brothers at home and in the neighborhood.  But that's where it ended until the Torrington YMCA girls swim team was formed by Doris Murphy.

Doris O’Mara Murphy started the girls swim team in Torrington, Connecticut USA in the late 1940’s.  Joan Rosazza was an early member of that team.  And the most talented.

Doris Murphy was a member of the Women’s Olympic Swimming Team representing the USA at the 1924 Summer Games in Paris, France.  She was 15 years old.  Doris qualified in the 100 Meter Backstroke and in the 4 by 100 Meter Freestyle Relay.  The USA Olympic Team traveled to Europe as a group and by ship - the SS America.  The National Committee paid for the construction of a special, make-shift canvas pool on the ship.  Only two swimmers could practice at any one time.  Each swimmer was tied with a rope around their waist and had to swim-in-place.  That was the extent of swim practice during the ocean voyage to France.

To read more about Doris Murphy and her swimming life see this link:

http://library.la84.org/6oic/OralHistory/OHOMaraMurphy.pdf

from the Oral History Project made during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, USA.

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 2 - “Three doors that opened to me.”

“The first was my family.  Because my family did not have any problem with me doing sports, of which there were none, but just in the backyard…”

“I couldn’t have made it on my own if it wasn’t first my family, and Doris, and the coach at Purdue (Dick Papenguth).”

Purdue University and the Lafayette Swim Club.  

This is your swimming chronology in 1953-1956.

1953:

Junior year in High School.  Doris Murphy accompanies Joan and three other swimmers to the AAU Nationals in Florida.  They travel by train.

1954:

Senior year in High School.  Off to Florida again to the AAU Nationals with Doris and company.  Joan has a breakthrough swim.  (More on that in Part 3.)

1955:

Graduate from Torrington High School in June, 1955.

Applied to one college - Purdue - and was accepted

You saw the Purdue swimmers at the AAU Nationals in Florida, were impressed with them,  and thought that would be a good place to go.

Received a small academic scholarship your first year ($250) - no athletic scholarships for women.  No second year scholarship - even as a returning Olympic Silver Medalist.

1955-1956:

Joined the Lafayette Swim Club which was started by coach Richard (Dick) O. Papenguth - the Purdue Men’s Swimming coach.  

http://www.lafayettecountryclub.net/membership/Swim/SwimTeam.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_O._Papenguth

The Lafayette Swim Club was not officially supported by Purdue and received no funds for its activities.

That was the way it was - and so much of it was fun:

Traveling as a swim team - 6 people in a car.

No official swim meets except the Indiana State Championship and the AAU Nationals, because there were no college swim teams for women, (except maybe club teams that were few and far away).

No paid uniforms or equipment - of course.

The Lafayette women's team raised money by selling cardboard visors at the Purdue football games for 25 cents apiece.

But the most fun was the annual Water Show at the end of the season to raise money for the swim teams.  

(Editor's Note: As a youth, I remember eagerly attending the Yale Carnivals in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.  It seems a common event in the 50's and 60's to raise funds for the collegiate swimming programs.)

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 3 - " ...I knew that I had a chance for the Olympics "

The scene:

Florida AAU Nationals. Junior year in High School.  

Doris Murphy, Joan Rosazza, Bea Minetto, and Sandra Ruwet from Torrington traveled by train to "Nationals" in Daytona Beach.  (It was a 24 hours train ride.  The girls slept in their seats.)  Joan was entered in the 100 yard freestyle.

Result: 10th in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 1:02.  10th in the country at the National Championship swim meet.

Next year.  Senior year in High School.  Doris and Joan and some Torrington girls travel again to Florida for the AAU Nationals.  

This time...

"I think I had had a breakthrough."

Result: 3rd place in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of :59. - breaking the all important 60 second barrier, which only 8 women in America - across all age groups - had broken at that time.  Joan was 18 years old.  A three second drop in one year.  Huge.

Did you push yourself?

"Oh yeah."

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freestyle_swimming

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 4 - Swimming Technique

A lot of ink has been spilled over the years on swimming technique.

There is no doubt that power and endurance are key elements of swim racing.  But swimming technique is equally important.

One reason we don’t always see the technical aspect, like we do with, say, Figure Skating or Downhill Skiing, is that swimming technique happens underwater.

We say,

‘That swimmer looks smooth and effortless compared to that other swimmer.’

, or

‘That swimmer is taking way fewer strokes than anyone else in this race.’.

Do we know why?  hmmm, maybe, maybe not.  But, intuitively we know that technique plays a huge part.

In what other sport is the technique of the participant invisible to the live-action viewer?  (Notwithstanding the recent underwater camera work by NBC Sports in their elite-level swimming broadcasts.)

"The Open Hand"  This means swimming with the fingers slightly apart instead of a cupped hand.  Many, but not all, elite swimmers use this technique today.  

"The S Pull"  Moving the hand through the pull phase in an "S" pattern or a question mark pattern.  This technique is not considered optimum today.  Current thinking is the pull should be straight back.

"Splits"  Taking interim time checks during a race.  For instance, recording the time at 50 meters in a 100 meter race.  Today coaches are obsessed with this metric.  Not so in 1956.

The evolution of the Australian Crawl.

http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/australian-crawl/clip1/

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 5 - The Birth of the Butterfly

Inside the secret world of elite swimming behind the Iron Curtain, two members of the Hungarian Women’s Olympic Swimming Team are discussing a turn of events.  

One of their teammates, Eva Szekely, had perfected a new way of swimming Breaststroke.  (This may be the way the conversation went...)

“Did you see Eva’s Breaststroke?  Her arms are coming out of the water.” - Eva Novak (Breaststroker # 1)

“Yes, Eva says it is legal.  It doesn’t break the rules.” - Klara Killermann (Breaststroker # 2)

“Wait, really?  Do you think she will use it in meets? Oh, I forgot, she probably won’t be allowed to swim in some of the meets.  She is really killing me in practice. I can’t figure out how to do that stroke. She showed me but I don’t get it.”  

“They have to let her swim in Helsinki, don’t they?”  

“Yeah, the Ruskies will want her to swim for Communism, you know, even though she’s Jewish.”

“I thought I had a chance for the podium.  Do you think we are the three fastest Breaststrokers?”

“In Hungary?, yes,  hahahahahaha.”

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In America, embroiled in the Cold War, the swim coaches were worried.

There were no U.S. women Breaststrokers topping the world rankings.

People were experimenting with new techniques, but no one had figured out what Eva Szekely had figured out.  And the result would be an embarrassment that would shock the U.S. swimming community into action.

(In Helsinki, Eva used the Butterfly arm stroke combined with the frog/whip kick from the Breaststroke - a hybrid.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaststroke

Just four years earlier, in the London Summer Games, the U.S. Women Breaststrokers came in 18th, 19th, and 20th, nearly dead last except for the two lowly swimmers from Iceland.   (Thank you Iceland.)

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Helsinki, Finland

Swimming competition: 25-July to 2-August, 1952

Weather:  Highs of 70 and lows of 52,  (21C - 11C)  The heated outdoor swimming pool must have felt warm at 75 (24C).  If the pool wasn’t heated the temperature would certainly been in the 60’s (16C - 20C), during the competition.  

(Footnote # 1: Helsinki was chosen to host the 1940 Olympic Games but World War II made that impossible.)

(Footnote # 2: It was an outdoor pool, and was heated to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, (24 Celsius).  It is, after all, Finland.)

Eva Szekely of Hungary swam the Butterfly in Helsinki in the Breaststroke event. She won the Gold, setting an Olympic Record.  She improved her time by 9 seconds over her London performance in 1948 (where she came in fourth).  

Eva Szekely had another fate awaiting her four years later in Melbourne, when the 1956 Hungarian Revolution had just been quashed by Russia.

Three Hungarians qualified 1-2-3 for the Final. But Elenor Gordon of Great Britain tied Klara Killermann of Hungary on the stopwatch, but Gordon was judged 3rd to win the Bronze and prevent a sweep by the strong Hungarians.  

(There were no touch pads that electronically recorded the time and order of finish.   One set of Officials used handheld stopwatches to time the race.  Another set of Officials were Judges who decided the order of finish for each swimmer regardless of the time on the stopwatch.)

The top American, Gail Peters, came in 24th (!!), followed by Della Sehorn, 26th, and Julia Cornell, 28th.  No American made it into the Semi-Finals.  One would think something had to be done before Melbourne in 1956.

Here is the official record of the Women’s event:

The winner of the 200 metres breaststroke, Éva Székely, used the butterfly stroke, the runner-up Éva Novák swam in orthodox style. All the Hungarians finished within the Olympic record already in the heats. In the final, a triple win for Hungary seemed a certainty until with her last stroke Gordon of Great Britain forged past Hungary's Killerman.

The women's 200 metres was the only swimming event in which a representative of the U.S.S.R. reached the final, Gavrish finishing sixth.

It seems the women swimmers weren’t as converted to the Butterfly as the men..

All eight of the men in the 200 Meter Breaststroke Final swam the Butterfly stroke.

Here is the official record of the Men’s event:

In the Men’s 200 metres breaststroke the majority of the 40 participants used the butterfly stroke. The race was remarkably even. Holan of the U.S.A., who clocked the best time in the heats (2.36.8), was eliminated in the semi-finals. The nerves of the German world record-holder Herbert Klein proved unequal to the strain of the final. The Australian Davies, (fourth in London in 1948) and Stassforth of the U.S.A. overtook him in the last lap. Davies, whose victory was unexpected, was a cool and calculating competitor, aware to a hair of his staying power. Alike in his heat and semi-final and the final he was still lying fifth at half-distance, only to glide irresistibly past his competitors in the second half. In this event the Olympic record was beaten 18 times (3 times in the heats, 9 in the semi-finals and 6 in the final). The event demonstrated that the butterfly stroke and the orthodox breast stroke are two different styles, which should be contested separately and for which there should be separate records. Now, not a single exponent of the orthodox breaststroke reached the final.

The-times-they-were-a-changin.

Official Report on the 1952 Olympic Summer Games:

http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1952/OR1952.pdf

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Four years later.

Melbourne, Australia

Women and Men competed in the Butterfly for the first time at these Olympics.

Now there are four Official strokes: Backstroke, Breaststroke Butterfly, and Freestyle.

Oddly, there were only 12 women entered in the 100 yard Butterfly - apparently because it was so new.  (Just beat 4 competitors and you make the Final.  Hooray.)

In the years between 1952 and 1956 Butterflyers experimented with the Dolphin kick.   They swam much faster.  

Led by the American practitioners, they arrived in Melbourne in 1956 doing the Dolphin kick and promptly sweep the medals.

Shelley Mann took Gold, Nancy Ramey, the Silver, and Mary Sears, the Bronze.  A U.S.A. sweep.

From 24th in the Breaststroke to 1st in the Butterfly four years later.  It was a huge turnaround for USA Swimming and a glorious day for Mann, Ramey and Sears.

On the USA Men's Team, Bill Yorzyk won the Gold Medal in the 200 Meter Butterfly by a whopping 4.5 seconds (2:19.3).  He set an Olympic and World record in that event in Melbourne.  Bill is a graduate of Springfield College in Springfield Massachusetts and the University of Toronto Medical School.  Bill swam for many years in U.S. Masters Swimming and is an inductee in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

The American Women and Men were now the dominate force in Butterfly.

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Sidenote:  Eva Szekely stuck with the Breaststroke in Melbourne rather than switch to the Butterfly.  Eva took the Silver Medal in the 200 Meter Breaststroke in Melbourne with a time of 2:54.8.  Her Olympic Record (2:51.7) set in Helsinki in 1952 was erased from the record books because she used the Butterfly arm stroke.  (She kept her Gold Medal.)  The Silver Medalist in the Breaststroke from Helsinki, the Hungarian, Eva Novak’s time of 2:54.0 was the Official Olympic Record at the start of the Games in Melbourne.  

On the Men’s side the Breaststroke Olympic Record set in Helsinki by Australian John Davies (2:34.4) was also erased from the record books.  (He kept his Gold Medal.)  What is strange is that the Lords-of-the-Rings did not restore American Joe Verdeur’s record of 2:39.3 from the London Games in 1948.  They went all the way back 12 years to the last Summer Olympics in Berlin and set the Breaststroke Olympic record going into Melbourne of 2:42.5 set by Tetsuo Hamuro of Japan.

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The debate rages on over who invented the Butterfly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_stroke

Here is 94 year-old Gary Weisenthal in a 6 minute video on the beginnings of the Butterfly.

http://youtu.be/tib69HtefWM

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 6 - Women’s Sports in America - Title IX

Recently, I attended an age-group swim meet at a local YMCA to watch a friend’s 6 year-old daughter compete.  Glancing at the heat sheets I noticed that the ratio of girls to boys was 78 to 22.  Curious.  

Yet, at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 the ration of women to men was 13 to 87.  

What happened in the intervening 58 years? What enabled or encouraged more women and girls to participate in swimming and other sports?

Maybe it was a U.S. Federal Law called, “Title IX” that was passed in 1972.  It has proven to be a landmark piece of legislation.  It is controversial for some.

To sum up Title IX in a sentence:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of gender, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

Title IX covers all educational activities, but it has had a singular effect on women’s collegiate sports.

Basically, if State University has a Men’s swim team, it must also have a Women’s swim team.

Title IX became a turning point in opportunities for women in collegiate athletics, which was pretty near zero before 1972.

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 7 - Resting, Tapers, …and Adrenaline

The pre-meet rest period - the Taper - You needed that.

“(Pappy) figured out that I needed to have a long rest before I compete.  In other words some people would go in and just drive themselves right up to the day of the meet.  I couldn’t do that.”

So, you needed a taper.

“Yeah, and he (Pappy) got that.   … There was no real information exchange between the Olympic Coach and your Coach from the United States.  So, he didn’t quite get that, the Olympic Coach.”

They didn’t talk?

“No.  ...Of course they couldn’t email or anything.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapering

Adrenaline and coming up big.

“In practices I never broke a minute four… (emphasis pause…) a minute four.”

(Editor’s Note: That is 1:04, or 64 seconds.)

“Helen Hughes would beat me all the time… and I’m in there trying as hard as I can but I don’t have that shot of Adrenaline.”

“And, you know, I don’t know what he (Pappy) thought of that, but he very soon got onto it, that, unless I had that Adrenaline rush… “

(Editor’s Note: During these interviews Joan talks about two distances, 100 Yards and 100 Meters.  100 Yards is the standard distance at the AAU swim meets.  100 Meters is the Olympic distance. 

In this Chapter, when Joan says 'a minute four [1:04]', she means the 100 Yard Free.  Joan broke one minute in the 100 Yard Freestyle in swim meets, [0.59], such as the AAU Nationals.  That time is five seconds faster than she ever did in practice. And only 7 other Americans had broken the 60 second barrier at that time.)

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 8 - The Olympic Trials in Detroit, Michigan

1956 Timeline:

August - Olympic Trials in Detroit, Michigan

September - October - Attend college at Purdue and swim practice.  When at home in Connecticut, practice at Yale University’s 50 yard pool at the invitation of Bob Kiphuth, the Yale Swim Coach.  And swim with Shelly Mann’s workout group at the Walter Reed Army Hospital’s 50 yard pool in Bethesda, Maryland.

(In 1956 there was no Olympic Training Facility.  That didn’t exist.)

November - travel to Australia by air  

Los Angeles to Hawaii to Fiji to Melbourne

December - Summer Olympics, Melbourne Australia

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The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials

August 7th through 10th

Brennan Pool, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Brennan Pool is an outdoor venue.  One archive photo shows the Trials at night, under the lights.  The weather during the four days of competition was pleasant, Mid 80’s (28 C) during the day with typical summer humidity, and in the 70’s (24C) in the evening.  A trace of rain on August 9th was all that was recorded.

Fifty-Seven top American female freestyle sprinters came to Detroit to vie for one of the spots on the Olympic Team in the 100 Meter Freestyle.  Only the top three would be selected.

Of the 57 entrants, three were teammates on the Lafayette Swim Club at Purdue:

Helen Hughes - 1:09.2 - did not qualify

Lucy Crocker - 1:08.5 - did not qualify

Joan Rosazza - 1:05.3 - qualified 2nd

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FINALS:  (All three of you made the Olympic Team and would be going to Melbourne.)

(1) Nancy Simmons 1:05.1

(2) Joan Ann Rosazza 1:05.2

(3) Shelley Mann 1:05.6

Splits in the Final:

Nancy:  Out  31.0 Back  34.1 Variance 4.1

Joan: Out 31.5 Back 33.7 Variance 2.2

Shelly: Out 31.0 Back 34.6 Variance 3.6

Qualifying Times for the top three finishers:

Nancy: 1:05.6

Joan: 1:05.3

Shelly: 1:04.6 *

* Shelly Mann’s time in the heats (1:04.6) equaled the World Record held since 1936.  It was also faster than the Olympic Record from 1952.  And it was a new American Record that had stood since 1945.  Shelly was an even stronger in the Butterfly - she won the Gold Medal in Melbourne in the 100 Meter Butterfly.

Joan’s 50 Meter split time in the Heats was the fastest of anyone of the 57 entrants (30.4).  Also, she won her Heat by 3.1 seconds, which seems like a huge margin for a 100 meter race.  

She more evenly paced the Final, going out in 31.5, (1.1 seconds slower than in the Qualifying).

(Editor’s Note: Regarding splits in the 100 meter free…  Current thinking is the 100 Meter race is swum with a split of 2 seconds or less between the first 50 and the second 50.  That slight disparity can be attributed to the advantage of the racing start for the first 50.)

In the Trials the average variance between the first half the second half of the race was 3+ seconds amongst all of the 57 women swimmers competing.

Joan also swam in the 400 Meter Freestyle at the Olympic Trials.  “On a lark…”  Shelly Mann and Joan were the only two swimmers to make the finals in both the 100 Free and the 400 Free at the Trials - a testament of being all around swimmers and being in top physical condition.

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Tomorrow’s Olympic Journey post is about the Women’s 100 Meter Freestyle race in the Melbourne Olympics.

The image above shows the eight finalists on the starting blocks.

The date is 1-December-1956 at 8:35 pm.

Here are the Lane Assignments from the top in Lane #1:

Joan Rosazza (USA)

Virginia Grant (CAN)

Faith Leech (AUS)

Dawn Fraser (AUS)

Lorraine Crapp (AUS)

Marrion Row (NZL)

Shelley Mann (USA)

Natalie Myburgh (ZAF)

Also in tomorow’s post will be a link to a video of the race in both regular speed with commentary, and Slo-Mo. 

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 9 - The Olympic races, 100 Meter Freestyle

The Melbourne Summer Olympics.

A few statistics of women’s participation in Olympic sports:

Melbourne 1956 Games:

Athletes: 2,938 men, 376 women (Ratio: 8 to 1)

Nations: 72

London 2012 Games:

Athletes: 5,892 men, 4,676 women (Ratio: 1.3 to 1)

Nations: 204

The weather in Melbourne that first week of December was warm, in the low 80’s (28 C), mostly sunny with a humidity of 40 - 50%.  A typical Australian summer.

Perfect conditions for any outdoor activity, but this Olympics was the first to hold the Swimming and Diving events indoors in a new Stadium built for the purpose.

The venue was state of the art, however, the architects underestimated the passion for swimming in the DNA of the Australian public. The spectator capacity of 5,500 was inadequate to meet the demand and the events were sold out many months ahead.

The Women’s 100 Meter Freestyle:

There were 35 entrants, far fewer than the 57 entrants at the Olympic Trials in America.

The event was scheduled over three days.

Friday, 29-November - Five Heats - The top 16 swimmers advance to the Semi-Finals the next day.

Saturday, 30-November - Two Semi-Final Heats

Sunday, 1-December - The Final - 8:35 pm

Friday Qualifying: 

Hear # 1:

Joan Rosazza and Lorraine Crapp of Australia were in this first Heat.  Lorraine won the heat in 1:03.4, a new, and short lived Olympic Record. Joan came in second in 1:05.5. The rest of the field was far behind. 

Heat # 5:

Aussie Dawn Fraser broke Lorraine’s Olympic Record to qualify first for the semi-finals the next day.

It was to become a World Record setting Olympics.

Joan was remarkably consistent in her three swims:

Qualifying: 1:05.5

Semi-Final: 1:05.9 (qualifying 7th for the final)

Final: 1:05.2 equaling Joan’s time from the Olympic Trials, a personal best.

Sunday Olympic Final:

Assessing the 8 swimmers in the Final there were two obvious favorites, Lorraine Crapp and Dawn Fraser in the 1:03 range followed by 6 other closely matched swimmers, all with times in the 1:05 range.

Joan was seeded 7th.  Which meant she was assigned to Lane # 1, an outside lane.  She could see the swimmer in Lane # 2, whom she overtook in the last few meters of the race.  But it was unlikely that Joan could see Faith Leech, the Australian in Lane # 3. (There were no swim goggle in 1956 to improve underwater visibility.)

Lane Assignments:

Lane # 1: Joan Rosazza (USA) 

Lane # 2: Virginia Grant (CAN)

Lane # 3: Faith Leech (AUS)

Lane # 4: Dawn Fraser (AUS)

Lane # 5: Lorraine Crapp (AUS)

Lane # 6: Marrion Row (NZL)

Lane # 7: Shelley Mann (USA)

Lane # 8: Natalie Myburgh (ZAF)

The Start:

Most swimmers used a  wind-up start which was the standard at the time. Lorraine Crapp (Lane # 5), uses an older technique with arms back at the Take-your-Mark command. 

In the first strokes after the start, Joan is tied, or slightly in the lead due to her excellent reaction time and racing start.

The first 50 meters:

Joan reaches the wall in 7th place.  Shelley Mann of the USA in in 6th.

Marrion Row of New Zealand in Lane 5 is tied for 4th at the turn. She uses an Open Turn instead of the more modern Flip Turn and loses time.

The last 50 meters to the finish:

Dawn Fraser and Lorraine Crapp pull away.

Joan makes her move and overtakes three other swimmers.

Joan finished 4th, one tenth of a second out of 3rd.  

It was an Australian sweep of the medals.

Here is the official report of the Women’s 100 Meter Freestyle Final:

The extraordinarily high standard of the three Australian girls, Fraser, Crapp and Leech demanded that any competitor hoping to gain even a minor placing would need to show outstanding ability. It seemed, however, to be a race between Fraser and Crapp.

All three won their heats very comfortably and with equal ease headed the semi-finals, Leech being second to Fraser. Winning times in the semi-finals were both more than 2 secs. better than the Helsinki record of 1 min. 05.5 secs. by Temes (Hungary).

The final was keenly anticipated and from the start Crapp and Fraser, swimming side by side, were the only two in the race. Fraser slightly ahead at the half-way point, Crapp coming level at 75 metres, but Fraser with a furious sprint was able to withstand the challenge and gained the verdict. The official timing gave them a difference of three-tenths of a second, but the finish seemed closer than this would indicate. Only seven-tenths of a second divided third from eighth and the first seven swimmers bettered the previous record, as had eighth, Myburgh (South Africa), in the first semi-final. This made eight in all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_1956_Summer_Olympics_–_Women%27s_100_metre_freestyle

http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1956/SWI/womens-100-metres-freestyle.html

Here is the final placings and times::

Dawn Fraser (AUS) 1st (1:02.0) - Gold 

Lorraine Crapp (AUS) 2nd (1:02.4) - Silver

Faith Leech (AUS) 3rd (1:05.1) - Bronze

Joan Rosazza (USA) 4th (1:05.2)

Virginia Grant (CAN) 5th (1:05.4)

Shelley Mann (USA) 6th (1:05.6)

Marrion Row (NZL) 7th (1:05.6)

Natalie Myburgh (ZAF) 8th (1:05.8)

Here is a video of the 100 Meter Freestyle final.

https://youtu.be/5D4tAegQD10

Link to the Slo-Mo version:

https://youtu.be/uSyHKjORwdw

Joan is in Lane # 1 at the top of the screen.

Again, here are the Lane Assignments from the top in Lane #1:

Joan Rosazza (USA)

Virginia Grant (CAN)

Faith Leech (AUS)

Dawn Fraser (AUS)

Lorraine Crapp (AUS)

Marrion Row (NZL)

Shelley Mann (USA)

Natalie Myburgh (ZAF)

[billryanswim]

Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 10 - World Politics at the Olympics - the Hungarian Revolution

(Editors Note: There is no audio clip today. I can include either an image or an audio clip, but not both in the same post. 

Next week’s episode is the first person account of how Joan and fellow athletes helped the Hungarians during the Games.

The image above is an Olympic Patch from the Games. Here is the story of the patch.)

The Hungarian Olympic Patch

Beginning as a student demonstration on October 23rd, 1956, spreading throughout Hungarian society for two-and-a-half weeks, and ending with a brutal Russian crackdown on November 10th, the Hungarian Uprising spilled over two months later at the Melbourne Olympics in December 1956.

The Hungarian Olympic Team arrived in Melbourne in November 1956 with little else but the clothing they were wearing.

The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland boycotted the Melbourne Olympics because of Russia’s participation at the Games.

The Hungarians’ symbolic protest in Melbourne was to cut out the Russian Star from their Olympic patches, (see the Blue arrow in the image above).  A similar snipping-out took place back home where the Hungarian Flag was flown with a hole in the middle where the Russian Star used to be.

Eva Szekely, the great Hungarian swimmer, gave her Olympic Patch to Joan Rosazza.  The image pictured above is Eva's patch.

Here is a link to a wiki-article on the Revolution:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 11 - World Politics at the Olympics - the Hungarian Swimmers and Water Polo Team

The Hungarian Olympic Team arrived (probably) by ship in Melbourne, Australia in November, 1956.  It was within weeks of Russia crushing the Hungarian Uprising.

Hungary was a Soviet Satellite State behind the Iron Curtain.  It was to remain part of the USSR until 1989.  

Their countrymen were being jailed and slaughtered at home.  In January, 1957 Russia consolidated its grip on Hungary when it replaced the government and suppressed all public opposition.

When the Team arrived in the Olympic village and met their fellow athletes, they were welcomed and made to feel at home.  These Games were known as the “Friendly Olympics”.

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Joan talks about the Hungarians...

“We got everybody together and we gave them clothes.”

“(After the Closing Ceremonies), when they wanted to go home… There was so much anger with the Russians.... They were afraid that the Russians were going to grab them, the Hungarians, and put them on their ship...”

“Suzie Ordoch (a 16 year-old Hungarian swimmer) got a telegram saying, ‘Both your parents have been killed.  Don’t come home.’”

“One of our girls, ...women, Nancy Ramey Lethcoe, wrote home and told her family (of the situation) and they sent her a telegram, ‘Bring her home’.  And she did, she brought her home, Suzie, to her family.  Just like that. Isn’t that something?”

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Half of the Hungarian Olympic delegation defected after the Games.

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Water Polo - Russia vs. Hungary

The Final of the Men’s Water Polo match was marred by fighting between the teams.  Hungary, always excellent in Water Polo, won the match and went on to win the Gold Medal against Yugoslavia. The match with Russia was cut short because of the altercations.

Here is the AP (Associated Press) story:

Melbourne - December 6th, 1956: Spectators boo Russians at Olympic Pool - Spectators and Officials stand as Hungarian water polo player Ervin Zador is led from the Olympic pool in Melbourne today after his right eye was cut by butting Russian during Water Polo Final.  Incident, loudly booed by spectators, caused the match to be cut short by eight minutes.  Russian team went to dressing room under police escort.  Hungarians won, 4 - 0.

And from the Wikipedia entry:

At the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, the Soviet handling of the Hungarian uprising led to a boycott by Spain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. At the Olympic Village, the Hungarian delegation tore down the Communist Hungarian flag and raised the flag of Free Hungary in its place. A confrontation between Soviet and Hungarian teams occurred in the semi-final match of the water polo tournament on 6 December. The match was extremely violent, and was halted in the final minute to quell fighting among spectators. This match, now known as the "blood in the water match", became the subject of several films. The Hungarian team won the game 4–0 and later was awarded the Olympic gold medal.

Reference articles:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_polo_at_the_1956_Summer_Olympics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Summer_Olympics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Rosazza

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Lethcoe

Videos:

An 11 minute documentary about the Revolution and the Blood in the Water Match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5jeJdDrVqY

A 4 minute B&W film of the original 1956 Water Polo matches between Hungary and Russia and Hungary and Yugoslavia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORjIONFd8cU

A 7 minute clip of the Hungary vs. Russia water polo match taken from the movie, “Children of Glory”, that dramatized the event. The audio in Hungarian without sub-titles, and it sure looks like John Belushi plays the Hungarian coach. 

https://youtu.be/MLoA5yLZ4l4

Here is a link to the original movie, Children of Glory, "Szabadság, szerelem"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486219/

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Joan Rosazza - An Olympic Journey

Part 12 - The Olympic races - 4 x 100 Meter Freestyle Relay

December 4th and 6th, 1956

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There is something about a swim race. If you are asked what goes through your mind you say, nothing - and that is true - and a million things.

You cannot hear anything but your ears are crowded with the white noise of the water going by.  

You are able to see but you cannot see all your competitors.  And in 1956 there are no swim goggles.

But if someone is ahead of you and you know it, you can chase them and, maybe, catch them.  

Isn’t that what all children do when there is no race, and there is no timer,  and there are no medals?

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The American team members in the Final are:

Sylvia Ruuska - At 15 years old and 5' 10", Sylvia is the youngest member of the relay.  She is the American Record Holder in the 400 Meter Freestyle and winner of the Olympic Trials in that event.  Sylvia did not swim the 100 Meter Free at the Trials, but she was put on the final relay in Melbourne.  She was a distance freestyler, but with Sprinter’s Speed.  Sylvia won the Bronze Medal in the 400 Free at these Olympics, coming in behind the two Australian super stars, Clapp and Fraser.

Shelly Mann - an all around swimmer who came in 6th in the 100 Free in Melbourne.  Shelly swam a huge race in the relay cutting 1.4 seconds off of Dawn Fraser’s Lead-Off lead of 2.3 seconds.  Shelly had swam a 1:05.40, 1:05.50, and 1:05.60 in the 100 Free individual event.  In the relay she swam a 1:03.90.  Even with the advantage of a rolling relay start, that was a masterful swim.  Later in the Games, Shelly won the Gold Medal in the 100 Meter Butterfly in Melbourne in an Olympic Record time of 1:11.0 as part of a USA sweep of the event.

Nancy Simons - the winner of the 100 Free at the Trials, but who did not make the final in the 100 in Melbourne.  That must have been a disappointment at the time.  Nancy swam a 1:04.6 and cut into the Aussie’s lead on Leg # 3.  Nancy was the only USA swimmer to swim both the Qualifying Heats and the Final of the relay.

Joan Rosazza -  Going off in the Anchor position with a deficit of 0.8 seconds, Joan was up against the world record holder, Lorraine Crapp.  Joan swam a courageous 1:04.40, the fourth fastest time of all 32 competitors that day, but Lorraine swam a 1:03.10, the fastest leg of all to take the Gold for Australia.

The Australian strategy:

One could say that Australia’s strategy of leading off with the fear-inducing Dawn Fraser was tactically smart - get a big lead and hold on until the Anchor Leg, where Lorraine Crapp could bring home the race.

But this almost backfired because the Americans, swimming from behind, swam their hearts out to close the gap that Dawn Fraser has built on the Lead-Off leg.  

The Americans were ahead for a brief time on the back half of Leg # 3.

Still, all colors of medals were up for grabs and it must have been an edge-of-your-seat, 4 minutes of hold-your-breath experience to be there in person in Melbourne that warm December day.

The American strategy:

The Americans had 6 swimmers who officially qualified for the relay.  The first, second and third place swimmers in the 100 Freestyle from the Trials, plus three more swimmers.  It was tradition to give all six swimmers a chance to swim at the Olympics.  There was no strategy of resting swimmers.  The American coaches thought that they could easily qualify for the Finals with the substitutes swimming in the qualifying heat.  Which they did, in fact, accomplish.

Qualifying Heats:

Here are the qualifying teams and times from the Heats on afternoon of Tuesday, 4-December - 2:55 pm:

1. Australia - 4:25.0 (Swam two substitutes in the qualifying, resting Fraser and Crapp)

2. South Africa - 4:26.8 (Same swimmers in Qualifying and Final)

3. USA - 4:27.3 (Swam three substitutes in the qualifying, giving everyone a chance to swim.  And resting all but Nancy Simmons)

4. Germany - 4:27.5 (Same swimmers in Qualifying and Final)

5. Hungary - 4:28.1 (Same swimmers in Qualifying and Final)

6. Canada - 4:29.3

7. Sweden - 4:30.1

8. Great Britain - 4: 34.6

Japan - 4:35.8 - did not make the final

France - 4:36.6 - did not make the final

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How are Lane Assignments done and why does it matter?

It swimming it’s key to be racing next to your prime competitor rather than two or three lanes away. The swimmer cannot see much beyond the lanes on either side of them and in 1956 there are no swim goggles, which help underwater sighting.

Top seed is assigned to Lane # 4. (That is Australia.)

Second seed to Lane # 5 and Third seed to Lane # 3

Now the top three seed are in the middle of the pool and the # 2 and # 3 seeds can both see the # 1 seed in the Lane next to them.

Rounding out the assignments, using the same logic.

Fourth seed to Lane # 6

Fifth seed to Lane # 2

Sixth seed to Lane # 7

Seventh seed to Lane # 1

Eighth seed to Land # 8

This answers the question: Why do the winners of most swim races on TV swim in the middle lanes? Are those lanes faster? No, all lanes are equal; though some would question the fastness of an outside Lane (#1 or #8), there is no proof that those are slower lanes. It’s simply that the top seeds are assigned Lanes 3, 4, and 5. Swimming fast in the qualifying heat matters.

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The Final:

A medal for the USA was not guaranteed.  And neither were the Australians guaranteed a Gold Medal.  Only 3.1 seconds separated teams 1 through 5.  

It was unclear how the final would play out because of the use of substitutes in the Qualifying Heats by the Aussies and the Americans.

One day passed between qualifying and the final.

Here are the lane assignments in the final:

1. Sweden

2. Hungary

3. USA - (It was crucial that USA was swimming next to the Aussies, where they could see them.)

4. Australia

5. South Africa

6. Germany

7. Canada

8. Great Britain

Here is the official record (with some editing) of the incredible race where the Americans took the Silver, and nearly snatched the Gold from the heavily favored Australians.

8:20 pm, Thursday, 6-December-1956

Australia appeared on performance basis to be outstanding favourites although the U.S.A. team was considered a serious threat.

The excitement started in the first qualifying heat with a great race between South Africa, U.S.A. and Germany, but as U.S.A. had three substitutes swimming it was not considered a true indication of ability.

Australia won the second heat with two substitutes in a time only three-fifths of a second outside the Helsinki record of 4 mins. 24.4 secs.

The final provided one of the best races of the series with the Americans well above their previous form.

The Lead-Off leg pitted Aussie Dawn Fraser against Sylvia Ruuska of the USA.  Fraser got out to a 2.3 second lead that the Aussies hoped would hold.  The USA made up over half of that lead, however, during the second leg, with American Shelly Mann swimming the second fastest swim in 1:03.90 to cut the Aussie lead to 0.9 seconds.

Australia was only slightly ahead at the half distance, (0.9 seconds) and in the third leg the Australian girl Sandra Morgan fell back and the American, Nancy Simmons went ahead, but in the last few yards Morgan produced a surprising sprint and was ahead again to give Lorraine Crapp a slight advantage over Joan Rosazza (0.8 seconds).  But it was only in the last few yards that Crapp was able to get clear and give Australia another victory; to gain it they had to lower their own world record time by 2.6 secs. to 4 mins. 17.1 secs.

The U.S.A. team also bettered the previous (world) record in recording 4 mins. 19.2 secs.

Final standings:

Gold - Australia - 4:17.1 - World Record

Silver - USA - 4:19.2

Bronze - South Africa - 4:25.7

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Reprise from Part 1:

“How did a girl, raised in a town with no sports for girls, get to stand on the medal box at the Olympics and receive a Silver Medal from the Prince of Denmark?  Not on her own.”

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Everything, all the emotion and all the effort, was left in the pool that day.

Then came Prince Axel of Denmark.  

And these girls would be home for Christmas.

[billryanswim]

Women’s 100 Meter Freestyle Final -Melbourne - December 1956