1900's Sports | Daniels, Charles M. 1885-1973

SWIMMING CHAMPION

Innovator of the American Crawl.

Charles M. Daniels, who emerged as the nation's foremost swimmer at the 1904 Olympic Games in Saint Louis, initiated America's twentieth-century dominance in the sport. At Saint Louis he won the 200- and 400-meter freestyle events, after finishing second to Zoltan Halmay of Hungary in the 100 meters. In 1905 a loss to J. Scott Leary marked a turning point in Daniels's career. Leary defeated Daniels with the Australian crawl, using a two-beat kick. Daniels adopted the Australian crawl but modified the kick to six beats. His new stroke, which became known as the American crawl, helped Daniels to win a record thirty-three individual American Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) indoor and outdoor titles from 1904 to 1911 at distances ranging from 50 yards to a mile.

America's Best Olympic Swimmer.

Daniels secured America's hegemony in men's Olympic swimming at the 1906...