Albina Osipowich

Albina Lucy Charlotte Osipowich (February 26, 1911 – June 6, 1964), later known by her married name Albina Van Aken, was an American competition swimmer for Pembroke Women's College, now Brown University, a 1928 Olympic champion, and a 1929 world record holder in the 100-meter freestyle. Osipowich won gold medals in the women's 100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, setting world records in both events. Though training less intensely in her Sophomore year at Pembroke, she helped lead the women's team to an undefeated regular season, and captained the team in her Junior Year. Removing herself from international competition, she declined to swim in national meets after her Freshman year at Pembroke, though continued to swim in regional meets. In her youth, she began swimming against the boys at the Worcester Boy's Club, and it was soon discovered she was faster than most in the sprint distances. While spending summers in her youth at Cape Cod, she first took a seasonal interest in swimming and competing.

In early competition, she swam in the 1926 New England championships, winning the New England Senior title at Norumbega Park on August 14, 1926 in the 880-yard event, and set a new record winning the 220-yard event the following month. In March, 1926, she captured the junior 100-yard freestyle title, one of her signature events. In late 1926, she won regional titles in the 50, 220, and 500-yard distances in indoor championships, setting records in the 220 and 500. She attended Worcester North High School, graduating in 1929. With her exceptional times, by the age of 17 she was selected to compete in the trials for the 1928 U.S. Women's Olympic team.

In July, 1927, she placed first in the New England AAU one-mile swimming championship in a time of 29.25.2 seconds at the City of Boston Swimming Meet, followed by Delna Carlstrom, and frequent rival Joan McSheehy.

1928 Amsterdam Olympics She officially qualified for the Olympic team at Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York on July 2, 1928. She had acquired a particularly bad case of the flu at the end of 1927, which may have accounted for her third place finish in the 100 free in the Olympic trials, though Eleanor Garatti's record 1:10.6 first place finish was a difficult pace to match, though it was not official. The women's 4x100-meter Olympic relay team that year consisted of Adelaide Lambert, Osipowich, Eleanor Garatti, and Martha Norelius with Josephine McKim and Susan Laird as alternates.

At the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Osipowich won a gold medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle in the world record time of 1:11, touching only .4 seconds before the American favorite Eleanor Garatti who swam a 1:11.4. Garatti had outperformed Albina in the trials. In 1928, the U.S. Women's Olympic team was managed by Yale Coach Bob Kiphuth.

In recognition of her Olympic victories, she was presented her gold medal by Holland's Queen Wilhelmina.

In her Freshman year, she swam with the Pembroke Women's team in the 1929-30 season defeating Radcliffe and Wheaton, winning the 60-yard dash in 36.1, and taking second in the 40-yard breaststroke by finishing only inches behind the winner who swam a 35.4. As a Sophomore in March, 1931, at the end of the 1930-31 season, where Pembroke went undefeated in regular season meets, she swam the 60-yard sprint for Pembroke in 40 seconds in a home meet defeating the Radcliffe Women's team, also swimming on winning relay teams. In her Junior year, she captained the Pembroke Women's swimming team in its successful 1931-32 season. She planned to swim into the 1932-1933 season, but was unable as a result of a ruptured appendix. By the 1932-3 season, the Pembroke women had recruited Jean Sheehy, and Lisa Lindstrom, a 1928 U.S. Women's Olympic participant in the backstroke. Both had swum for the Women's Swimming Association (WSA) of New York founded by Charlotte Epstein. In 1933, Osipowich graduated from Pembroke College (Brown University) in Providence, Rhode Island, where she played field hockey and continued swimming.

Regional meets during college Continuing to compete in regional competition, she represented the Worcester Women's Swimming Association on March 6, 1930, at the Brookline Swimming Meet in greater Boston, where she swam the 50-yard sprint event in 29 seconds, bettering her former time. She also was on the winning 150-yard medley relay where she swam anchor. In April, 1930, she comfortably won the 220-yard competition in 2:50.8 at a swimming meet in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, though Joan McSheehy took greater honors, setting records in three events.

Albina's brother John Osipowich was a varsity swimmer for Worcester Tech, and won the preliminary heat of the 440-yard event in a record time of 5:43 at the 1930 Intercollegiate Championships at the Bowdoin Pool.

Later life Around October 17, 1936, she married 1936 Brown graduate Harrison Van Aken Jr. in Chicago. Van Aken had played basketball two years for Brown University, where the couple met. Van Aken worked for Chicago's Continental Bank and Trust Company. At the time of her wedding, Osipowich was working as a Director for Rhode Island's activities for women for the National Youth Administration. She worked briefly as a buyer for a department store before her marriage in 1936. The couple had two sons and travelled extensively with her family in the U.S. from New York to Virginia and also enjoyed Arizona. They lived for many years in DeWitt, N.Y. East of nearby Syracuse, then in Lynchburg, Va.

Honors Osipowich was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a Pioneer swimmer.

The Brown Athletic Hall of Fame includes Albina Osipowich Van Aken '33, who was inducted in 1984.