Bill Sadlo

William “Bill” Sadlo, Jr. is an inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer

William Sadlo, Jr., inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame and co-founder of the International Professional Swimmers Association

William “Bill” Sadlo, Jr. competed in the 1954 Atlantic City Around the Island Swim, results from the collection of Marilyn Bell

1930 Canadian National Exhibition where William “Bill” Sadlo, Jr. competed in the CNE in Toronto, Canada

William "Bill" Sadlo, Jr., nicknamed The Swimming Grandfather, is an American open water swimmer who is a member of the 24-hour club and Half Century Club.

Open Water Swimming Highlights

• He completed a crossing of Lake Ontario (Canada) on 23 August 1957 in 25 hours 1 minute.
• Sadlo was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2009 as an Pioneer Swimmer.
• A member of the 24-hour club, he competed in at least 31 marathon swims between 1927 and 1957.
• He was a founding member of the International Professional Swimmers Association while directing swimming programs in New York City for three decades.
• He attempted the precursor of the modern-day Manhattan Island Marathon Swim five times and made three successful circumnavigations in 1927, 1928 and 1930. His obituary reported 4 successful swims.
• He finished 11th in the 41.8 km Atlantic City Centennial Swim on 26 July 1954 in 10 hours 35 minutes.
• He finished fifth in the 1934 Canadian National Exhibition 15-mile race in 9 hours 58 minutes.
• He finished 8th in the 1937 Canadian National Exhibition in 4 hours 57 minutes.
• He finished third in the 1949 Canadian National Exhibition 15-mile race in 9 hours 44 minutes.
• He swam all but one of the Canadian National Exhibition swim from 1928 to the last 1950s.
• He swam from Coney Island to the Battery.
• He swam from the Battery to Liberty Island.

Record Progression of the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim from 1915 to 2025

• Robert Dowling, USA 13 hours 45 minutes in September 1915
• Ida Elionsky, USA 11 hours 35 minutes in September 2016
• Byron Summers, USA 8 hours 56 minutes in September 1927
• Bill Goll, USA 8 hours 39 minutes in July 1930
• Bill Sadlo, USA 8 hours 38 minutes in July 1930
• Sam Shields, USA  8 hours 36 minutes in July 1930
• Diana Nyad, USA 7 hours 57 minutes in October 1975
• Drury Gallagher, USA 7 hours 14 minutes in July 1982
• Paul Asmuth, USA 6 hours 47 minutes 58 seconds in August 1983
• Drury Gallagher, USA 6 hours 42 minutes in September 1983
• Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 6 hours 12 minutes 29 seconds in October 1985
• Shelley Taylor-Smith, Australia 5 hours 45 minutes 25 seconds in July 1995
• Oliver Wilkinson, Australia 5 hours 44 minutes 2 seconds in September 2011
• Andy Donaldson, Scotland 5 hours 41 minutes 48 seconds in September 2024
• David Olvera López, Mexico 5 hours 34 minutes 58 seconds in June 2025.

1949 Canadian National Exhibition Races

1. Cliff Lumsdon, 18, Canada in 7 hours 54 minutes on 2 September 1949, 24.1 km
2. Ben Gazel in 8 hours 21 minutes on 2 September 1949, 24.1 km
3. Bill Sadlo, 49, USA in 9 hours 44 minutes on 2 September 1949, 24.1 km

International Professional Swimmers Association

The International Professional Swimmers Association was an international association organized on 21 September 1927 at the Hotel McAlpin in Manhattan, New York with its headquarters in New York City. The Association planned to issue a monthly publication to authenticate and keep records of a professional swimming events and to foster swimming throughout the world as an international sport.

Its officers included:

• William Wrigley, Jr., Honorary President
• Captain George H. Maines, Active President
• William Burgess of Dover, England, Vice President
• Elwood Hughes of Toronto, Canada, Vice President
• C. Compton of Long Beach. California, Vice President
• Lou Timson of Boston, Massachusetts, Secretary and Treasurer

Its Board of Governors consisted of:

• Edward Keating of New York
• William Erickson of New York
• Byron Summers of San Francisco
• Lottie Schoemmell of Lake George, New York
• Eva Morrison of Boston, Massachusetts
• Ernest Vierkoetter of Berlin, Germany
• Paul Chotteau of Paris, France
• William Sadlo Jr. of New York
• Ethel Hertle of New York
• Mobile Bill Jackson of Mobile, Alabama
• Leo Purcell of San Francisco, California
• May Elwell of Revere, Massachusetts
• Sam Swartz of Glens Falls, New York
• Captain T. W. Sheffield of Balboa, California
• Johnny Walker of Toronto, Canada
• Olaf Farstadt of Norway
• Ernst M. Smith of San Francisco, California
• Charles Toth of Boston, Massachusetts
• Henry Sullivan of Lowell, Massachusetts
• James Burns of New York
• Edith Hedin of Toronto, Canada
• Harold "Stubby" Kruger of Hawaii
• Georges Michel of Paris, France
• Norman Ross of Chicago, Illinois
• Clarence Ross of New York
• George Young of Toronto, Canada, Associate Member for Life
• Gertrude Ederle, Associate Member for Life
• Millie Gade Corson, Associate Member for Life

External links

• Millie Corson Inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Swimmer
• David Olvera López Dreams Big, Drops Manhattan Island Record
• Swimming Across Lake George, The Most Beautiful Lake In The World
• When Canadians Dominated Atlantic City
• Third Time Was A Charm In Canada For Margaret Ravior And Marvin ‘Duke’ Nelson
• Open Water Swimming
• Marilyn Bell Recalls Her Remarkable Teenage Years On WOWSA Live
• International Professional Swimming Association Drew Stars
• Updated 24-Hour Club
• 24-hour Club…Swimming All Day And Night
• Swimming For More Than 24 Hours
• 24-hour Club…Swimming All Day And Night
• The Swimming Grandfather Set Stage For The 21st Century
• Cliff Lumsden Shocked The Highest Echelon Of The Sport
• International Professional Swimmers' Association Organized
• Solo Swims of Ontario
• Open Water Swimming
• William 'Bill' Sadlo
• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
• Updated 24-Hour Club
• NYC Swim bio
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• Daily News of Open Water Swimming
• I Got Stung
• World Marathon Swimming Association