Otto Wahle
Otto Wahle was a Jewish Austrian swimmer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century, he took part in two Summer Olympic Games and won a total of three medals.Swimming career
Wahle aged just 20 years old competed in three events at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, he competed in the Men's 200 metre freestyle and won his heat, but for some unknown reason he didn't compete in the final. He also entered the Men's 1000 metre freestyle; in his heat he came second behind Hungarian, Zoltán Halmay, but still qualified for the final the next day. In the final he was beaten by John Arthur Jarvis from Great Britain, but ahead of Zoltán Halmay to win the silver medal. Wahle also won a silver medal in the Men's 200 metre obstacle event. After winning his heat he just missed out on the gold medal by under two seconds to Australian, Frederick Lane.
In 1901 he moved to New York City and was taken in by the New York Athletic Club. Three years later he was competing at the 1904 Summer Olympics. The Games were held in St. Louis, Missouri, and again Wahle entered three events. In his three events there wasn't any heats; in the Men's 1 mile freestyle he finished in fourth place. He finished in fifth place in the Men's 880 yard freestyle, but managed to win a bronze medal in the Men's 440 yard freestyle finishing behind Charles Daniels and Francis Gailey.
In 1906, Wahle became a US citizen. He would later become the American swimming team coach for the 1912 Summer Olympics, where he coached future Gen. George S. Patton Jr. for the swimming event in the pentathlon. At the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics he was the coach of the American water polo team.
Wahle played a major role in the growth of swimming as a competitive sport in the United States and wrote many of the rules listed in early Amateur Athletic Union manuals.
He died in 1963 in Forest Hills, Queens, and was inducted in to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1968.
