TAKEOFF TO TOKYO ICONIC MOMENTS IN
OLYMPIC HISTORY
>> ALFRED HAJOS, HUNGARY (1896)
THE INAUGURAL CHAMP (1896) In 1896, when the Modern Games debuted in Athens, Hungarian Alfred Hajos earned a distinction that will never be removed: First swimming champion. Jumpstarting what has been a rich history for Hungary in Olympic waters, Hajos captured gold in the 100 meter freestyle, a title that was later complemented by another gold medal in the 1200 freestyle. (It wasn’t until 1908 that the event was contested over 1500 meters.) In the more than a century that has elapsed since Hajos raced to victory in the Mediterranean Sea, Hungary has produced legends such as Tamas Darnyi, Krisztina Egerszegi and Katinka Hosszu. But Hajos will always be his nation’s first Olympic champ and viewed as the athlete who set the stage for future success. THE FIRST LADY (1912) Sixteen years after the Olympic Games were first held in their modern form, women competed in the sport of swimming at the 1912 Games in Stockholm. There, Australian Fanny Durack etched her name in the history books when she won the 100 freestyle and opened the door for fellow female athletes to show their skills. This summer in Tokyo, 109 years after Durack broke a gender barrier, the swimming schedule at the Olympics will be identical for men and women. THE BREAK OF DAWN (1956, 1960, 1964) At the 1964 Olympics, Australia’s Dawn Fraser was already a legend, having won the 100 freestyle at back-to-back Games in 1956 and 1960. The sprint star, however, elevated her status even further in Tokyo, as she secured a third consecutive gold medal in the 100 free, this achievement despite Fraser nursing a neck injury from a car accident several months earlier that also claimed the life of her mother. Fraser remained the only member of the three-peat club until 1996, when Hungarian Krisztina Egerszegi won her third straight Olympic crown in the 200 backstroke. Michael Phelps finally gave the male gender inclusion at the 2012 Olympics, when he three-peated in 22
JULY 2021
SWIMMINGWORLD.COM
>> FANNY DURACK, AUSTRALIA (1912)
[PHOTO BY INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME]
I
n October of 2019, nearly a year prior to the original date of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Swimming World designed a series that would pay homage to the history of the sport on its biggest stage. Dubbed “Takeoff to Tokyo,” the series would feature some of the mostintriguing storylines from the more than 100 years of the Games. Sometimes, plans do not go according to plan, and when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and forced a one-year delay of the Olympics, “Takeoff to Tokyo” saw its life expectancy extended. The series ultimately grew into nearly a two-year endeavor, one that featured pieces on legendary figures, epic races and dark moments. Now, with the Olympics set to take place, it is time to say farewell to this project. For our final installment, we offer a look (in chronological order) at some of the most prominent moments in Olympic lore. While some of these entries have been explored in deeper profiles during the series, several are new additions to the TTT vault. We hope you enjoy this final chapter, and what has come before.
[PHOTO BY INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME]
BY JOHN LOHN
