Bob Skelton (swimmer)

Did You Know?

• In August 1926, Skelton was diagnosed with typhoid fever and treated at Evanston Hospital, recuperating through the end of the year.
• He qualified for the 1928 Olympic team after recovering from typhoid fever.
• In 1942, at age 38, he enlisted in the Navy, served three years as a Chief Motor Machinist Mate in the South Pacific, and was decorated with the silver star combat medal.

Early life and swimming

Skelton was born in Wilmette, Illinois to Harold Danforth Skelton and Grace Stevens Skelton. He attended New Trier High School, which had one of the first public high school indoor swimming pools by 1913. At New Trier, he dominated local interscholastic swimming events and emerged as a top breaststroke swimmer as a junior, swimming for the Dolphins team. After graduating in 1922, he trained with the Illinois Athletic Club under Hall of Fame Coach Bill Bachrach. By 1922, Skelton held world records in the 200 and 440 yard breaststroke events, as well as outdoor records in the 200 and 400-meter breaststroke.

Northwestern University

Bob Skelton swam for Northwestern University's freshman team in 1923 under Hall of Fame coach Tom Robinson. During his first year, a two-week suspension came for taking a date to an unapproved dance hall, and he never returned for his sophomore year. He set a world record in the 200-meter breaststroke on March 21, 1924, in Milwaukee, beating the mark held by Germany's Erich Rademacher. Skelton also won multiple AAU National Championships and set nine American records.

1924 Olympic gold

Bob Skelton qualified for the 1924 Paris Olympics by winning the 200-meter race at the June trials in Indianapolis, where he beat his own American record but not the global mark set by Eric Rademacher. In his first heat of the 200-meter breaststroke, he shattered the Olympic record by nearly six seconds, clocking 2:56.3. He took his semifinal the next day, just four seconds slower than that record time. Skelton became the first American to hold a world record in the 200-meter breaststroke.