Charles Daniels

Charles Meldrum Daniels (March 24, 1885 – August 9, 1973) was an American competition swimmer, eight-time Olympic medalist, and world record-holder in two freestyle swimming events. Daniels was an innovator of the front crawl swimming style, helping to develop the "American crawl".

Daniels was born in Dayton, Ohio on March 24, 1885. He attended Dwight Prep school in New York City where he was captain of the school's basketball team, did the high jump, and ran the mile and half mile with the track team. Familiar with strong swimming, Charles's father Thomas often swam a half mile out to sea when the family vacationed in Long Island.

NYAC and swimming highlights Daniels began his swimming career around the age of 18 with the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) in 1903, where he was mentored by Hall of Fame Coach Gus Sundstrom. At NYAC, Daniels was also a squash and bridge champion. Swimmers of his era had been swimming the trudgen stroke that featured both arms fully extended in front of the body while stroking in turn, but used a breastroke style kick with each stroke cycle. He transitioned from the trudgen stroke to the modern, universally accepted front crawl, also known as the Australian crawl, which used a more efficient and faster flutter kick and made it easier to rotate slightly to breathe and gain more power during arm strokes. The flutter kick produced less drag and could be performed more times per arm cycle than the breaststroke kick.

Intercalated Games In the 1906 Intercalated Games in Falirou, Peiraias, Athens, Greece, Daniels won the gold in the 100-meter freestyle with a final time of 1:13.0, touching before old rival Zoltan Halmay of Hungary. The Intercalated Games were an international meet held prior to determining the Olympics would be held every four years, and were considered by much of the press to be the same as the Olympics. The U.S. team placed fourth in the 250-meter freestyle relay. The race distance was discontinued as an Olympic relay event, and the 1906 event was held in open water in a bay with high waves.

Post-swimming life Daniels retired from competitive swimming in 1910, and he and his wife Florence bought 5,000 acres in New York's Adirondacks mountain range. He had Sabattis Park constructed, which featured a 9-hole golf course for his personal use. After several prior business ventures, he founded and operated one of the few silver fox farms in America, on his land in the Adirondacks.

In both 1946 and 1948, he captured the California State Seniors championship as an amateur golfer. He was named Athlete of the Year in 1909 by the Amateur Athletic Union. Following a long illness, Daniels died August 9, 1973 at his home in Carmel Valley, California, and was buried near where he spent much of his life at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.