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Bob Skelton

Ralph Breyer, Bob Skelton, Johnny Weissmuller, c. 1925
Personal information
Full name	Robert Danforth Skelton
National team	United States
Born	(1903-06-25)June 25, 1903 Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 25, 1977(1977-06-25) (aged 74) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Club	Illinois Athletic Club
College team	Northwestern University
Coach	Bill Bachrach (IAC) Tom Robinson (Northwestern)
Medal record Men's swimming Representing the United States Olympic Games 1924 Paris 200 m breaststroke

Robert Danforth Skelton (June 25, 1903 – June 25, 1977) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder.

Skelton was born in Wilmette, Illinois. He gained much of his swimming prowess while training and competing with the outstanding swimming program of the Illinois Athletic Club under Hall of Fame Coach Bill Bachrach. Bachrach coached Olympic champion Johnny Weismuller during the years Skelton was active with the club.

Beginning in the Fall of 1922, he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he swam for the Northwestern Wildcats swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition under Hall of Fame Coach Tom Robinson. By 1922, excelling in distance competition, Skelton held world records in the 200 and 440 yard breaststroke events. In outdoor competition, he held records in 200 and 400-meter breaststroke event.

In his career, Skelton set a world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, held several AAU National Championships, and set nine American records.

1924 Olympic gold

Skelton competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he won a gold medal in the men's 200-meter breaststroke event. Skelton finished in 2:56.6, decisively defeating Belgian swimmer Joseph De Combe (2:59.2), and fellow American Bill Kirschbaum (3:01.0). He was the first American to set a world record for the 200-meter breaststroke.

In August of 1926, Skelton was diagnosed with Typhoid fever and was treated at Evanston Hospital, continuing to recuperate through the end of 1926.

Skelton continued to compete after recovering from typhoid fever, and qualified for the 1928 Olympic team.

He died in Houston, Texas in 1977 at the age of 74.

See also

• List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• List of Northwestern University alumni
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• World record progression 200 metres breaststroke

References

1. "Bob Skelton". Olympedia. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
2. ^ {{cite web|url=https://ishof.org/honoree/honoree-robert-skelton/%7Ctitle=International Swimming Hall of Fame, Robert Skelton|website=ishof.org|access-date=25 December 2024
3. "International Swimming Hall of Fame, Bob Skelton". ishof.org. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
4. "Over Thirty to Be in Contests", Kenosha News, Kenosha, Wisconsin, 6 December 1922, pg. 17
5. ^ "Olympedia Biography, Bob Skelton". olympedia.org. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
6. "Skelton Has Typhoid Fever", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, 19 August 1926, pg. 13

Sources

• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Bob Skelton". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
• Robert Skelton (USA) – Honor Pioneer Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame

v t e 1924 USA Olympic swimming team
Men's Team	Ralph Breyer Harry Glancy Dick Howell Duke Kahanamoku Samuel Kahanamoku Warren Kealoha Bill Kirschbaum Henry Luning Wally O'Connor Bob Skelton Adam Smith Lester Smith Johnny Weissmuller Paul Wyatt
Women's Team	Sybil Bauer Florence Chambers Eleanor Coleman Euphrasia Donnelly Gertrude Ederle Agnes Geraghty Ethel Lackie Martha Norelius Aileen Riggin Matilda Scheurich Helen Wainwright Mariechen Wehselau

This article about a swimming Olympic medalist of the United States is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

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• 1903 births
• 1977 deaths
• People from Wilmette, Illinois
• American male breaststroke swimmers
• World record setters in swimming
• Northwestern Wildcats men's swimmers
• Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming
• Swimmers at the 1924 Summer Olympics
• Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics
• 20th-century American sportsmen
• American swimming Olympic medalist stubs