1924 Ethel Lackie Paris Summer Olympics Gold Medal: 4x100M Freestyle Swimming....

Click the image to load the highest resolution version.

Sold on Aug 1, 2013 for:

$19,120.00 Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder

Get one of these:

Share this lot

Track Item Printable Auction Results

Sell One of These

Description

Auction Info

Guides & Info

Description

1924 Ethel Lackie Paris Summer Olympics Gold Medal: 4x100M Freestyle Swimming. Born in Chicago on February 10, 1907, Ethel Lackie learned to swim in Lake Michigan and quickly established herself as the fastest female swimmer on Earth, snapping fellow American Mariechen Wehselau's World Record in the 100 Meter Freestyle in 1926. Two years earlier, at age seventeen, she proclaimed her dominance of the international sport with Gold Medal performances in both the individual and relay 100 Meter Freestyle competitions. Here we present her victor's prize for the latter.

Lackie was joined on the victorious American squad by Gertrude Ederle who would become, in two years' time, the first woman to swim the English Channel. It would be generous to call the race competitive, as the USA outpaced the Silver Medal-winning Brits by eighteen seconds. Another eighteen seconds would pass before the Swedes laid claim to the Bronze. The 4:58.8 time set by Lackie and her teammates established the world record, the first female freestyle relay to break the five minute mark.

The medal derives from the Lackie family and makes its hobby debut within this Platinum Night auction. Obverse presents two athletes in a show of sportsmanship, with the Olympic rings below. Verso announces "VIIIeme Olympiade Paris 1924" beneath an assortment of sporting paraphernalia. Stamped on edge is "2 Argent," the latter the French word for "silver," as Olympic Gold Medals created after 1912 have been, in fact, gold-plated silver. The medal is housed in a replacement vintage velvet-lined case and presents without any distractions to note. Letter of provenance from Lackie family.