{"id":6293,"date":"2025-11-11T17:32:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T22:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/?p=6293"},"modified":"2025-11-11T17:36:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T22:36:50","slug":"eleanor-holm-biography-of-an-olympic-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/eternal-6293-eleanor-holm-biography-of-an-olympic-champion","title":{"rendered":"Eleanor Holm: Biography of an Olympic Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>American Eleanor Holm was a true swimming star. Throughout her athletic career, she won 29 national championships and set numerous records. At 20, the swimmer became an Olympic champion, winning a gold medal. However, at the peak of her career, she was scandalously expelled from the Olympic team. After this, Holm became known as a socialite, interior designer, and actress. Learn more about this extraordinary woman on <a href=\"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\">newyorka<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0dceb443397\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #090909;color:#090909\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #090909;color:#090909\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0dceb443397\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/eternal-6293-eleanor-holm-biography-of-an-olympic-champion\/#Early_Life_and_Swimming\" >Early Life and Swimming<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/eternal-6293-eleanor-holm-biography-of-an-olympic-champion\/#Eleanor_Holm_Athletic_Career_and_Achievements\" >Eleanor Holm: Athletic Career and Achievements<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/eternal-6293-eleanor-holm-biography-of-an-olympic-champion\/#Expulsion_from_the_Olympic_Team_and_Acting\" >Expulsion from the Olympic Team and Acting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/eternal-6293-eleanor-holm-biography-of-an-olympic-champion\/#Eleanor_Holms_Personal_Life\" >Eleanor Holm&#8217;s Personal Life<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Early_Life_and_Swimming\"><\/span>Early Life and Swimming<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleanor Grace Theresa Holm was born on December 6, 1912, in New York City. She was the youngest of seven children in the family of Charlotte Long and Franklin Holm. Her father worked as a firefighter. His cousin, Bobby Holm, was a professional basketball player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleanor attended Erasmus Hall High School. She learned to swim at a young age and began training professionally during her school years. Her abilities were noticed, so her life&#8217;s path quickly took shape. Eleanor began her athletic career as a teenager, convinced that this was her destiny and path to recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Eleanor_Holm_Athletic_Career_and_Achievements\"><\/span>Eleanor Holm: Athletic Career and Achievements<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"975\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-1.png 975w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-1-300x246.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-1-768x630.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-1-696x571.png 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleanor Holm won her first national swimming title when she was just 13 years old. After this, in 1928, she was selected for the national team to compete in the Summer Olympic Games. There, Holm finished fifth in the 100-meter backstroke. This event became her specialty, one in which she was unparalleled and set speed records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She also performed quite well in other swimming styles. For instance, Holm won several championship titles in the 300-yard individual medley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The swimmer&#8217;s greatest achievement was her victory at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She won gold in her favorite discipline, earning not only recognition in the sports world but also widespread popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact is, Eleanor Holm stood out with her striking appearance, boldness, and cheerful disposition. All of this, combined with her athletic achievements, made her a true star of her time. After her victorious Olympic Games, major film studios began competing to invite her for screen tests. She visited the studios of &#8220;Warner Brothers,&#8221; &#8220;MGM,&#8221; and &#8220;Paramount.&#8221; However, at that time, she wasn&#8217;t seriously considering an acting career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, in 1932, Holm joined the &#8220;WAMPAS Baby Stars&#8221; project by Warner Brothers. This promotional campaign gathered talented young women whom the film company viewed as future stars and wanted to introduce to the public. As part of this project, Eleanor Holm joined a cross-country tour with director and choreographer Busby Berkeley, who was promoting the film musical &#8220;42nd Street&#8221; in early 1933. The team also expressed support for the newly elected president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Afterward, Eleanor returned to swimming. She was at the peak of her athletic career and eager to win another gold medal at the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Expulsion_from_the_Olympic_Team_and_Acting\"><\/span>Expulsion from the Olympic Team and Acting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"976\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-2.png 976w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-2-300x246.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-2-768x630.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-2-696x570.png 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1936, the talented <a href=\"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/eternal-5832-diana-nyad-a-swimmers-extraordinary-story\">swimmer<\/a> qualified for the Summer Olympic Games, which were to be held in Berlin. The team traveled to Germany on the steamship &#8220;SS Manhattan.&#8221; It was there that the incident occurred which led to Eleanor&#8217;s expulsion from the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>David Wallechinsky, in &#8220;The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics,&#8221; described this incident, noting that parties frequently occurred on board. The Olympic Committee did not forbid them, but athletes were not allowed to consume alcohol, as important competitions lay ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One evening, the team doctor found Eleanor Holm in a state of alcohol intoxication\u2014almost comatose. Charges were brought against the swimmer, which she did not deny. However, she claimed she had only drunk a couple of glasses of champagne and was not drunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Avery Brundage, who was the president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, immediately expelled Eleanor from the team. More than half of the U.S. Olympic team signed a petition defending Holm and asking for her reinstatement. But Brundage, who later headed the International Olympic Committee, refused to reconsider his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Eleanor Holm arrived in Germany but was unable to participate in the competitions. The main contender for the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke watched from the stands as other athletes competed and won. Decades later, she said she was heartbroken by this event and that Brundage had acted out of a personal grudge. He had allegedly professed his love to the swimmer and even proposed to her, but Eleanor had refused him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In any case, this effectively ended her professional athletic career. Holm no longer participated in championships or Olympic Games. In 1966, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"584\" height=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-3.png 584w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-3-300x224.png 300w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-3-80x60.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, the woman tried to explore her <a href=\"https:\/\/newyorkski.info\/en\/eternal-3999-the-life-and-career-of-sigourney-weaver\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">acting potential<\/a>. She appeared in four films as herself and also took part in filming one Hollywood movie. Alongside fellow Olympian Glenn Morris, Eleanor Holm can be seen in the 1938 film titled &#8220;Tarzan&#8217;s Revenge.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Eleanor_Holms_Personal_Life\"><\/span>Eleanor Holm&#8217;s Personal Life<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"465\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-4.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn.newyorka.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/57\/2025\/11\/image-4-300x233.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleanor Holm first married on September 2, 1933. Her chosen partner was Art Jarrett, a fellow graduate of Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, where they had met. The couple dated for five months. Their whirlwind romance ended in marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jarrett was a singer and had his own band that performed at the &#8220;Cocoanut Grove&#8221; nightclub. Eleanor once joined the band on stage wearing a white swimsuit, a cowboy hat, and high-heeled shoes. She performed the song &#8220;I&#8217;m an Old Cowhand&#8221; from the 1936 film &#8220;Rhythm on the Range.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The marriage lasted five years and ended in divorce. It was initiated by her husband, who claimed that Eleanor had been unfaithful to him. Furthermore, he did not want to be involved in the scandal that had erupted around his wife after her expulsion from the Olympic team in 1936.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for Eleanor, she married for the second time in November 1939, to impresario Billy Rose. He had also been married before but left his wife after falling in love with Holm. During this period, the swimmer was participating in the World&#8217;s Fair, which was taking place in New York. She gave 39 performances a week in Rose&#8217;s &#8220;Aquacade&#8221; and performed alongside swimmers Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1954, the couple divorced. Their separation became a sensational court case, as Holm sought significant alimony. The woman managed to win payments of $30,000 per month (which would be equivalent to $350,000 today) and a one-time payment of $200,000, which was later divided into 10 annual installments. This was reported by &#8220;The New York Times,&#8221; which dubbed the divorce &#8220;the war of the Roses.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly after, Eleanor Holm married oil executive Thomas Joseph Waelen. The couple remained together until his death in 1986. She had no children in any of her marriages, so the woman lived alone in her final decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eleanor Holm died of kidney disease on January 31, 2004, in Miami, Florida. The woman was 91 years old. She was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis. Her swimming records remained unbeaten for a long time, and her image inspired artists. For example, in the novel &#8220;Flight from Berlin&#8221; (2012), author David John used the likeness of Eleanor Holm for his main character, Eleanor Emerson.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Eleanor Holm was a true swimming star. Throughout her athletic career, she won 29 national championships and set numerous records. At 20, the swimmer became an Olympic champion, winning a gold medal. However, at the peak of her career, she was scandalously expelled from the Olympic team. After this, Holm became known as a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":404,"featured_media":6266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1035],"tags":[4200,4199,4201,4204,4194,4196,4191,4202,4197,4193,4203,4195,4198,4192],"motype":[1045],"moformat":[127],"moimportance":[34,33],"class_list":{"0":"post-6293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-psychology-of-women","8":"tag-1930s-swimmer","9":"tag-aquacade-show","10":"tag-avery-brundage","11":"tag-backstroke-swimmer","12":"tag-berlin-olympics-1936","13":"tag-billy-rose","14":"tag-eleanor-holm-2","15":"tag-female-athlete","16":"tag-los-angeles-1932","17":"tag-olympic-swimming-champion","18":"tag-showbiz-star","19":"tag-sports-scandal","20":"tag-tarzan-movie","21":"tag-team-expulsion","22":"motype-eternal","23":"moformat-longrid-korotka","24":"moimportance-golovna-novina","25":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatori"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6293"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6295,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6293\/revisions\/6295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6293"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=6293"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=6293"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newyorka.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=6293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}