Charlotte Boyle (swimmer)

Women's Swimming Association

Boyle swam for the Women's Swimming Association of New York, founded and managed by Charlotte Epstein in 1917, and was coached by Hall of Fame Coach Louis Handley. Epstein had been instrumental in gaining women's entry into Olympic swimming in 1920 and into the American Athletic Union in 1914, and she advocated for longer race distances. Boyle, considered one of the first great freestyle swimmers from the WSA program, later won a national title in the 5-mile swim. Her 1920 Olympic teammates included divers Aileen Riggin and Helen Wainwright.

1920 Olympics

Charlotte Boyle represented the United States at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics in the women's 100-meter freestyle, where her semifinal time of 1:20.4 kept her from the final. Her teammate from the Women's Swimming Association, Ethelda Bleibtrey, won that event with a world-record 1:13.6. Boyle had previously held world records in the 200-meter and 220-yard freestyle events and set U.S. records in the plunge for distance, a now-obscure discipline. She won national AAU titles in the 100-yard freestyle in 1918, the 50-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard free again in 1919 and 1921, with victories ranging from 50 yards to five miles.

After retiring, she married Henry Clune, a longtime columnist for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, and became a coach, teaching thousands of people to swim. Boyle died on October 3, 1990, in Scottsville, New York, where she had lived for many years, and was survived by her four sons.