WEBVTT 00:01.600 --> 00:03.900 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Gertrude Ederle's accomplishments were not only in the water, 00:05.833 --> 00:07.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% as an Olympic swimmer and the first woman to swim the English Channel, 00:09.033 --> 00:11.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% but she also had a huge impact on the American landscape. 00:27.833 --> 00:29.633 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% 1924, Paris, France. 19-year-old 00:32.400 --> 00:37.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Gertrude Ederle competed for the U.S. women's swim team at the Summer Olympics. 00:38.200 --> 00:40.966 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% When the modern Olympics were founded in 1896, 00:42.166 --> 00:44.033 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% those games featured no women competitors. 00:45.533 --> 00:49.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Then in 1900, you had five events for women: tennis, 00:51.000 --> 00:53.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% golf, croquet, equestrianism, and sailing. 00:54.966 --> 00:59.133 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% 1912 was the first time women were included in aquatic sports: 00:59.900 --> 01:00.133 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% swimming and diving. 01:01.600 --> 01:05.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She won the gold medal in the 4x100 relay freestyle, 01:06.300 --> 01:07.766 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% and also won two bronze medals. 01:10.266 --> 01:15.166 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% "The Olympic races? I had to swim like hell... When we're in the water, 01:16.033 --> 01:16.666 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% we're not in this world.". 01:20.333 --> 01:23.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Gertrude Ederle was born in 1905 in New York City, 01:25.066 --> 01:26.733 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% to a German immigrant family that owned a butcher shop. 01:28.400 --> 01:32.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Her father taught her to swim in a river when she was nine by tying a rope 01:33.200 --> 01:33.500 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% around her waist. 01:34.766 --> 01:37.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% When Gertrude Ederle got measles as a youngster, 01:39.233 --> 01:42.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% she had complications that led to her being hard of hearing, 01:43.666 --> 01:45.500 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and swimming did not help the hearing issue. 01:47.200 --> 01:50.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% "The doctors told me my hearing would get worse if I continued swimming, 01:51.633 --> 01:53.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% but I loved the water so much, I just couldn't stop.". 01:56.233 --> 02:00.100 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Ederle dropped out of school in her early teens to train as a swimmer 02:00.700 --> 02:00.933 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% year-round. 02:02.766 --> 02:05.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I think the family support was tremendous, especially from the father. 02:06.966 --> 02:09.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Most youngsters, if they dropped out of school, 02:11.066 --> 02:13.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% it was to work to help support the income of the families. Here she was, 02:14.166 --> 02:15.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% focusing singularly on swimming. 02:15.466 --> 02:19.766 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Society viewed women as the weaker sex, 02:21.533 --> 02:24.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that they were biologically less able to have physical courage and 02:25.600 --> 02:26.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% withstand the rigors of competition. 02:28.133 --> 02:31.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Some male doctors even called them "maternally-wounded women," that too 02:33.033 --> 02:35.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% much physical effort might harm women's roles of childbearing. 02:37.400 --> 02:40.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% So there was a real limit to what women were encouraged to do in the area 02:41.166 --> 02:41.400 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% of sport. 02:44.233 --> 02:48.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% In 1918, Ederle joined a women's team and began to swim competitively. 02:50.733 --> 02:54.600 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The Women's Swimming Association was founded by Charlotte Epstein in 1917, 02:56.533 --> 02:59.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and it's really one of the first athletic organizations founded by women to 03:00.566 --> 03:03.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% promote women's competitive sport. They had a male coach, 03:04.733 --> 03:06.566 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Louis de Breda Handley, a former Olympian, 03:08.600 --> 03:11.366 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% who believed that women could and should swim. And this led to competitions, 03:12.833 --> 03:16.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% once the amateur athletic union allowed women to compete in the 03:16.666 --> 03:17.033 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% 1910s. 03:19.033 --> 03:23.333 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% "To me, the sea is like a person - like a child that I've known a long 03:25.000 --> 03:29.866 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% time. It sounds crazy, I know, but when I swim in the sea, I talk to it. 03:31.000 --> 03:31.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% I never feel alone when I'm out there.". 03:35.033 --> 03:39.900 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% By the age of 20, Ederle had set 29 world records in women's freestyle, 03:41.333 --> 03:43.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% including a long distance race from New York to New Jersey. 03:44.766 --> 03:48.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Gertrude Ederle swam the 22 miles in 7 hours and 11 minutes. 03:50.566 --> 03:54.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% And that record stood for over 80 years. So she was short distance, 03:55.600 --> 03:57.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% long distance, all around champion swimmer. 03:58.666 --> 04:01.066 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% I can't think of anyone that would be able to do that right now. 04:02.166 --> 04:02.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% That's very unique. I'm Lia Neal, 04:06.400 --> 04:08.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and I'm a two-time Olympian. I joined a swim team 04:13.733 --> 04:17.000 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% when I was eight, and I've been swimming competitively since then. 04:19.233 --> 04:23.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% The national team changes every year with who's the fastest in the country right 04:24.666 --> 04:28.600 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% now. At the Olympics in 2012, 04:29.200 --> 04:31.300 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% in London, 04:31.300 --> 04:34.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I became the first African American woman to swim on a finals on the 400 free 04:35.433 --> 04:37.333 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% relay. And making the 2016 Olympics, 04:39.233 --> 04:41.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I also became the first African American woman to make two Olympics in swimming. 04:43.766 --> 04:46.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% I was just like tunnel vision, not really setting any limits on myself, 04:47.433 --> 04:48.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% constantly climbing the ladder. 04:51.500 --> 04:55.433 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% In 1925, with sponsorships from the Women's Swimming Association, 04:55.433 --> 04:58.166 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Ederle set her sights on the ultimate endurance test, 04:58.166 --> 05:01.200 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% to swim across the English Channel. 05:03.066 --> 05:06.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Men had been doing it, and five men had succeeded. 05:07.866 --> 05:10.466 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Women had tried, but no one had done it successfully. 05:11.833 --> 05:14.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% "Five men have succeeded, why not a woman? 05:15.466 --> 05:18.366 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Surely in the athletic club we are near equal in endurance!". 05:19.966 --> 05:24.033 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% We have to remember, women barely got the right to vote in 1920. 05:25.633 --> 05:28.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% And so Ederle was trying to demonstrate physical emancipation. 05:29.300 --> 05:31.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% But the risks involved were enormous. 05:33.233 --> 05:36.600 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% You had the huge waves, the cold temperature, the jellyfish, 05:38.033 --> 05:39.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% and often the winds would come up and blow you off course. 05:41.333 --> 05:45.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% So it was a huge physical endeavor that most thought men would 05:46.400 --> 05:47.533 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% barely survive, let alone a woman. 05:49.500 --> 05:53.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Ederle set off from a beach in France, determined to conquer the 21-mile swim. 05:54.666 --> 05:56.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% "I'm all ready for it. Bring on your old channel.". 05:58.600 --> 06:02.466 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% She used the freestyle and most swimmers had used the breaststroke. 06:03.200 --> 06:04.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% And so this was unusual. 06:06.233 --> 06:08.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% But she seemed to move through the water quite rapidly, 06:09.600 --> 06:11.100 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and initially seemed to be doing well. 06:13.600 --> 06:18.200 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% But a huge wave came up, and her coach, from the tugboat following, 06:19.566 --> 06:22.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% her said, "Gertrude, you should get out." He touched her, 06:22.933 --> 06:23.766 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% which was a violation. 06:25.733 --> 06:27.566 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% And so the swim stopped and she was furious because she could have kept going, 06:28.166 --> 06:28.533 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% she thought. 06:30.000 --> 06:33.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% "My motto is, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. 06:35.400 --> 06:37.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% I am going to attempt to swim the English Channel again next July.". 06:38.400 --> 06:38.833 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% Ederle 06:40.466 --> 06:44.600 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% hired a new coach and spent a year training at least four hours a day. 06:46.266 --> 06:50.000 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% She also designed her own goggles and a more aerodynamic swimsuit. 06:51.166 --> 06:53.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% In the late 19th, early 20th century, 06:54.833 --> 06:57.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% women at beaches and in pools were told to cover up. 06:59.333 --> 07:03.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% They needed to wear full-length skirts, often stockings or bloomers, 07:04.333 --> 07:06.433 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% and that limits mobility in the water. Ederle 07:07.966 --> 07:11.333 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% revolutionized swimming with her sporting costume. 07:12.833 --> 07:16.133 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% On August 6th, 1926, at 7 am, 07:16.133 --> 07:19.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Ederle set off from the coast of France a second time. 07:21.466 --> 07:25.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% She slathered herself in grease to protect against the cold water and jellyfish 07:25.700 --> 07:26.066 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% stings. 07:28.000 --> 07:30.966 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% "Don't let anybody take me out of the water unless I ask. Promise me, 07:31.700 --> 07:32.866 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% England or bust.". 07:34.300 --> 07:38.500 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Two tugboats kept pace - one carrying her family and fans, 07:40.100 --> 07:41.933 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% the other, reporters from a newspaper which sponsored the swim. 07:43.600 --> 07:46.666 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% When she was getting some food, she would rest on her back. 07:48.033 --> 07:50.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She would have broth, sugar cubes, and chocolate. 07:52.133 --> 07:54.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% The people on the boat began singing to her. 08:04.633 --> 08:06.933 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% There was nothing that was going to stop her this time. 08:11.400 --> 08:13.833 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% 14 Hours and 39 minutes later, 08:15.266 --> 08:17.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% 20-year-old Gertrude Ederle arrived on the British shore. 08:18.833 --> 08:21.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She was not only the first woman to swim the English Channel, 08:23.333 --> 08:25.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% but she beat the existing men's record by two hours. 08:27.000 --> 08:28.966 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% "I'll bet all the women in the world will celebrate tonight. 08:30.133 --> 08:32.133 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% It's up with the women and down with the men.". 08:33.433 --> 08:35.233 align:left position:20% line:89% size:70% When Ederle came back, 08:37.200 --> 08:39.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% New York City gave her a huge ticker tape parade and there were over 2 million 08:41.066 --> 08:43.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% people who lined the streets and docks to be a part of this. 08:45.133 --> 08:47.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% She had nicknames like "Queen of the Waves" or "The Grease Smeared-Venus." 08:49.566 --> 08:52.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She was one of the first women to visit the White House, 08:54.400 --> 08:56.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% and President Calvin Coolidge, he referred her as "America's Best Girl." 08:58.966 --> 09:03.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% There was a short film made about Ederle and there were songs devoted to her. 09:08.100 --> 09:11.766 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Ederle wiped out misconceptions about women being weak. 09:22.433 --> 09:25.100 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Even though most Americans didn't swim before, 09:27.066 --> 09:30.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Ederle's sudden fame inspired more than 60,000 women in the U.S. to earn 09:31.666 --> 09:32.533 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% Red Cross swimming certificates in the 1920s. 09:34.133 --> 09:37.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% She toured the country on the vaudeville circuit for two years, 09:38.366 --> 09:39.933 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% demonstrating her skills in a portable tank. 09:42.433 --> 09:46.266 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% However, as a result of the overwhelming pressure of press attention, 09:47.866 --> 09:49.733 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Ederle suffered what doctors then called a 'nervous breakdown.' 09:51.333 --> 09:54.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% The Channel's swim had also significantly worsened her hearing. 09:56.166 --> 10:00.000 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She retired from the sport in 1928, at age 22. 10:01.466 --> 10:04.833 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% "I finally got the shakes. I was just a bundle of nerves. 10:06.133 --> 10:08.266 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% I had to quit and I was stone-deaf.". 10:10.500 --> 10:12.166 align:left position:30% line:89% size:60% In her fifties, 10:12.166 --> 10:15.600 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Ederle taught swimming at a school for deaf children in New York 10:16.066 --> 10:16.433 align:left position:40% line:89% size:50% City. 10:17.866 --> 10:21.233 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% It's amazing that she, being faced with becoming deaf, 10:22.566 --> 10:25.633 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% ultimately served other generations and shared her gift. 10:26.866 --> 10:28.833 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% There aren't very many women coaches. 10:30.500 --> 10:34.233 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% So I think it's up to us pioneers to give back to our communities that are 10:35.733 --> 10:38.866 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% less privileged, to let them know that this is an option. 10:40.766 --> 10:43.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% As long as you race your heart out and work hard enough for it, you'll get it. 10:46.700 --> 10:49.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% Elderle died in 2003, at the age of 98, 10:51.300 --> 10:53.433 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% after being inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. 10:56.200 --> 10:59.800 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% Gertrude Ederle is part of this long legacy of pioneers in sport, 11:00.733 --> 11:03.000 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% where women compete and succeed. 11:04.433 --> 11:07.700 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% She certainly kicked down the doors for Olympic participation, 11:08.900 --> 11:10.633 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% by showing that women, given the opportunity, 11:12.200 --> 11:14.500 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% can break down barriers and achieve sometimes even more than men. 11:15.666 --> 11:18.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% "When somebody tells me I cannot do something, 11:19.866 --> 11:22.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% that's when I do it. People said women couldn't swim the Channel, 11:23.300 --> 11:24.233 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% but I proved they could."