George Van Cleaf

George W. Van Cleaf (October 8, 1879 – January 6, 1905) was an American water polo player and swimmer who represented the United States at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, winning a team gold medal in the water polo competition. An accomplished member of the New York Athletic Club, and national champion in the one-mile swim in 1900, Van Cleaf died of typhoid in January 1905 from swimming in the contaminated water in the man-made pool at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics.

Early life Van Cleaf was born October 8, 1979, to father Garrett W. Van Cleaf and mother Phebe M. Van Cleaf in Northfield, New York on Staten Island, though he spent much of his later life in greater Brooklyn. By the age of 15, he had become well-known in the local swimming community for winning and placing well in swimming competitions. In addition to later training in the pool at the New York Athletic Club, he trained by swimming in the ocean at Bath Beach, near his place of residence in Brooklyn. Not discouraged by the cold, he swam frequently in the early spring after ice had left the water's surface. Van Cleaf initially swam for New York's Knickerbocker Club, but after it relocated, he joined the accomplished New York Athletic Club, where he became well-known in the swimming community.

On February 27, 1904, Van Cleaf's New York Athletic Club water polo team defeated the team from Massachusetts' Brookline Swimming Club 7-1 at the Central Park South Clubhouse, though the results of the swimming contests were closer. Van Cleaf placed third in the 100-yard swim event behind Harry Le Moyne, whose time of 1:02.4 was one second off the American record owned by Le Moyne, and C.M. Daniels.

1904 St. Louis Olympic gold The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis were conducted as part of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a World's Fair. The swimming and water polo events were held in early September in the lake that hosted lifesaving exhibitions. The lake was a man-made open body of water and had no lanes or starting blocks for swimming competition. The aquatic area used was not constructed for competitive swimming, and the water was reportedly contaminated, which led to health risks for a few athletes, including Van Cleaf and his teammate David Bratton. A competent distance swimmer and a former one-mile champion, Van Cleaf was entered in the 1 mile freestyle event, as well as the 50, 100, 220, and 880 yard events, but did not participate.

Honors In 1988, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.