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| Title | Helene Madison and coach Ray Daughters leaving airplane, Seattle, March 26, 1930 |
| Photographer | Staff Photographer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| Date | 1930 |
| Caption | Helene Madison started swimming at Green Lake when she was 12 years old. At 19, she swept the women's freestyle swimming events in the 1932 Olympics. That year, she held all 16 women's world freestyle records and 56 American awards. When she returned to Seattle, the city presented her with a car, a Navy and Police escort and Seattle's largest ticker tape parade. Madison was unable to compete further in Olympic events due to some brief and unsuccessful professional endeavors. The challenges of two failed marriages, debt, diabetes and cancer filled Madison's later years in life.
In this photograph, 16 year old Helene Madison is returning to Seattle after sweeping the indoor nationals in Miami Beach, breaking eight world's records and becoming internationally famous. Madison and her coach, Ray Daughters, are shown leaving the plane West Wind at Boeing Field, after flying the last leg of their trip, from Tacoma to Seattle. Thousands met Madison's plane at the airport and a banquet in her honor was held that evening at the Civic Auditorium. In the photo, Madison is carrying the Jantzen trophy for outstanding performance, probably received during a stop in Portland. |
| Notes | Handwritten on image: Helene Madison.
Caption information source: MOHAI exhibit label; historylink.org. |
| Subjects | Swimmers--Washington (State)--Seattle; Awards--Washington (State)--Seattle; Airplanes--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Personal Names | Madison, Helene |
| Places | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Digital Collection | Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection |
| Image Number | 1986.5G.1755 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@mohai.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph. |
| Credit Line | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved |
| Repository | Museum of History & Industry, Seattle (MOHAI) |
| Repository Collection | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection |
| Type | Image |
| Physical Description | 1 glass negative: b&w; 4 x 5 in. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original negative as a 3000 pixel TIFF image in 8-bit grayscale, resized to 640 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using Photoshop 6.0 and its JPEG quality measurement 3. |
