Ethel Lackie
American Olympic champion and world record-holder in freestyle swimming.
Ethel Minnie Lackie, also known by her married name Ethel Watkins, was an American competition swimmer who achieved Olympic champion status and held world records. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 10, 1907, and began swimming at age three at the insistence of her father. Lackie was the first woman to break 60 seconds for the 100-yard freestyle and the first to clock 1:10.0 for the 100-meter freestyle.
Quick Facts
- Full name
- Ethel Minnie Lackie
- National team
- United States
- Strokes
- Freestyle
- Club
- Illinois Athletic Club
- Coach
- Bill Bachrach (Illinois AC)
- Born
- 10 February 1907
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Died
- 15 December 1979
Facts from the source article.
1924 Olympics
Ethel Lackie made a splash at the 1924 Paris Olympics, taking gold in the women’s 100-meter freestyle with an Olympic record of 1:12.4 and leading a U.S. sweep of the event. She added a second gold as part of the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay team, alongside Euphrasia Donnelly, Gertrude Ederle, and Mariechen Wehselau, which set a world record of 4:58.8 in the final. That year, Louis Handley coached the women’s team, while her own coach from the Illinois Athletic Club, Bill Bachrach, led the men’s squad. After retiring, she married Bill Watkins, a rower from Santa Monica who had been a lifeguard, paddle-board record holder, and dory rowing champion. Ethel died in Newbury Park, California on December 15, 1979. She had been named an honor member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1969.
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