Paul Wolf

Paul G. Wolf (October 5, 1915 – October 14, 1972) was an American competition swimmer for the University of Southern California, and a 1936 Berlin Olympic silver medalist in the 4x200 freestyle relay. In August, 1933, he set a new record for the 1.5 mile ocean swim in La Jolla with a time of 40:46.8. Swimming in Los Angeles for the Los Angeles Swim Club at the Western AAU Championship in September, 1935, in heats that would help qualify him for the 1936 Olympic team, Wolf set a Far Western AAU Conference record in the 100-meter freestyle of 59.4 seconds defeating Art Lindegren. He also swam a

1936 Olympics Wolf won a silver medal as a member of the second-place U.S. team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Ralph Flanagan, John Macionis and Jack Medica at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The American team had a combined time of 9:03.0, and placed second to the gold medal-winning Japanese team. The American and Japanese teams were the overriding favorites to compete for the gold medal, and after taking the lead, the Japanese team won by a margin of around 12 seconds. Bill Kiphuth, who would later coach at Yale, was the head coach for the Men's 1936 Olympic swimming team.

In 1938, Wolf returned to Berlin and swam with the U.S. team that recorded a new World Record in the 800-meter freestyle relay. In July, 1938, swimming for the University of Southern California, Wolf placed third in the 100-meter at the AAU National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

University of Southern California As a collegiate swimmer at USC, Wolf served as team captain and was co-national champion in the 100-yard freestyle at the 1939 NCAA championships. His time of 52.9 at the 1939 NCAA Championships tied with Charles Barker, who swam for the winning college team, the University of Michigan. At the National AAU Championships in Ann Arbor Michigan in March, 1939, Wolf placed second in the 50-yard freestyle and would hold the world record time in the event of 25.4.

In later life, Wolf taught at the Los Angeles Athletic Club and was owner and operator of Pasadena California's Paul Wolf Olympic Swim Club in the 1960s at least through 1967.