Tom Burgess
Thomas William Burgess (15 June 1872 in South Yorkshire, Great Britain – 2 July 1950 in Paris, France) was a 2-time Olympic athlete from Great Britain. His family moved to Westminster, London around 1882. During this time, Burgess joined a swimming club and swam to Battersea along the Thames. Around 1889 The Earl offered him the opportunity to set up a French branch of the motor tyre business in Paris, France where he got married. He was one of the early pioneers of channel swimming when he crossed the English Channel in 1911.
Athletics Highlights and Honors
- In the 1900 Paris Olympics, he won a bronze medal in water polo and completed in the 1 km swim (DNF), 4 km swim (fourth) and 200m backstroke (fifth).
- He was inducted in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1983 as an Honour Swimmer.
- He was the second person to swim the English Channel in 22 hours 35 minutes on 6 September 1911 on his 16th attempt.
- In 1926, he trained Gertrude Ederle who became the first woman to swim the English Channel.
- In the 1920's, he bought a summer home at Cap Gris Nez as a summer base to train English Channel swimmers from 1922 to 1934. In 1941 it was reported by the newspapers that Burgess was taken prisoner by the Nazis and held in a prison camp Stalag 142 in Bascanon, France. He was released later the same year.
- He served was a Vice President of the International Professional Swimmers Association founded in New York City in 1927.
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
- Updating Encyclopedia Britannica On Distance Swimming
- Daisy Ridley To Play Gertrude Ederle As Young Woman In The Sea
- Swimming Slowly Successfully
- If Captain Matthew Webb Texted And Tweeted, Posted And Published
- International Professional Swimming Association Drew Stars
- International Professional Swimmers' Association Organized
- Time Magazine August 1925
- Catch Me Helmy
- Adventurous Life Well Lived, Thomas Burgess
- Old School Breaststroking In The Open Water
- Marathon Swimming Hall Of Famers At The Olympics
- The Perfect Open Water Man
- The Perfect Open Water Woman
- Bill Burgess In Olympics
- International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
- Failure To Finish Is Not Failure
- When Water Polo And Open Water Swimming Mix
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Marathon Swimming
- The Perfect Female Open Water Swimmer
- The Perfect Male Open Water Swimmer
- Stroke After Stroke, Mile After Mile, Again And Again
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Things Open Water Swimmers Never Say
- Fastest English Channel Crossings By Olympic Swimmers
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Marveling About Nelson
- Channel Swimming Association
- Daily News of Open Water Swimming
- Dominic Vicino Honored For Beach Rescue
