Welcome to our new series, “Dare to Believe.”

Each month we will be selecting one man and one woman who achieved greatness in the face of adversity.

If you have a person you would like to recommend for inclusion in the series, email me at fran.thisawfulawesomelife.com@gmail.com and we will do our best to include them.

Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003) was an American swimmer, Olympic medalist (1924 Summer Olympics in Paris), and world record holder in five events. The press often called her “Queen of the waves.”

She wanted to swim across the English Channel and trained with Jabez Wolffe, a male swimmer who had failed to complete the journey 22 times. Because of his difficulties, Wolffe thought the swim was too challenging for women. Only five men and no women had successfully swam across the English Channel before Ederle.

During her first attempt in 1925, Ederle was disqualified after Wolffe ordered another swimmer into the water to retrieve Eberle while she was resting. He claimed to have believed she was drowning.

To get ready for her second attempt, she trained with Coach Bill Burgess who had successfully swam the channel in 1911.

In choppy conditions in 1926, the twenty-year-old Ederle swam across the English Channel in a controversial two-piece suit. She beat the times of the five men before her by two hours and became the first woman to successfully swim across the English Channel. Her record time held until 1950.

William Dehart Hubbard (1903-1976) was also an American athlete competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Hubbard was a track and field athlete. He became the first African American to win a gold medal in an individual event winning gold for the running long jump.

Hubbard, a star athlete at the University of Michigan didn't compete in all events for which he qualified. He was denied a fair chance to race in several events by the International Olympic Committee because of his race. Instead of becoming bitter, Hubbard channeled his frustration into becoming a better athlete and an outstanding role model for other athletes of color.

He competed in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, but because of an injury Hubbard finished in 11th place.

In 1934, he founded the Cincinnati Tigers of the American Negro Baseball League. 

Hubbard worked as the supervisor of the Department of Colored Work for the Cincinnati Public Recreation Commission until 1941. After moving to Cleveland, Ohio, he served as a race relations adviser for the Federal Housing Authority.

Hubbard was also an excellent bowler. He served as the president of the National Bowling Association during the 1950s. In 1957, Hubbard was elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and inducted into the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1979.

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133777154/William-Dehart-Hubbard-Leaping-Into-Black-History