Ethel Minnie Lackie (February 10, 1907 – December 15, 1979), also known by her married name Ethel Watkins, was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder.[1]
![]() Ethel Lackie in 1929 | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Ethel Minnie Lackie | |||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||
Born | (1907-02-10)February 10, 1907 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | |||||||||||||
Died | December 15, 1979(1979-12-15) (aged 72) Newbury Park, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | |||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle | |||||||||||||
Club | Illinois Athletic Club | |||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Lackie represented the United States at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.[2] Individually, she won a gold medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 1:12.4, and leading an American medal sweep of the event.[2][3] She also won a second gold medal as a member of the first-place U.S. team in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, together with American teammates Euphrasia Donnelly, Gertrude Ederle and Mariechen Wehselau.[2][4] The U.S. relay team set a new world record of 4:58.8 in the event final.[2] In 1969 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[5]
She was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended high school at University High in the Hyde Park community of Chicago. After retiring from competitions she married Bill Watkins, a rower from the Santa Monica area. She died in Newbury Park, California.[2]
Records | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Women's 100-meter freestyle world record-holder (long course) January 28, 1926 – August 7, 1929 |
Succeeded by |
1924 USA Olympic swimming team | ||
---|---|---|
Men's Team | ![]() | |
Women's Team |
![]() | |
---|---|
|