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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.
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Breaststroke
Club	Illinois Athletic Club
College team	Northwestern University Freshman team
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.

Early life and swimming

Skelton was born in Wilmette, Illinois on June 25, 1903 to Harold Danforth Skelton and Grace Stevens Skelton. He attended Wilmette's New Trier High School, which notably had one of the first public high school indoor swimming pools. While at New Trier, Robert dominated local interscholastic swimming events for several years. During his junior year, he emerged as a top-notch breaststroke swimmer and was a member of the Dolphins, New Trier's male swimmers. Skelton graduated New Trier in 1922. He gained much of his subsequent 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.

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.

Beginning in 1923, he attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he swam for the Northwestern Wildcats Freshman swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition under Hall of Fame Coach Tom Robinson. Skelton was suspended for two weeks from Northwestern during his Freshman year for taking a date to a Dance Hall that was not on the school's approved list. After his suspension ended, he did not return to Northwestern for his Sophomore year.

In his career, Skelton set a world record in the 200-meter breaststroke, held several AAU National Championships, and set nine American records. On March 21, 1924, at a meet in Milwaukee, Robert broke the 200-meter breaststroke world record, previously held by Germany's Erich Rodemacher.

1924 Olympic gold

At the June 1924 Olympic trials in Indianapolis, Robert won the 200-meter event, breaking his own U.S. record but falling short of the new world record set by Eric Rodemacher.

Showing mastery in the preliminary heats for the 200-meter breaststroke at 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, he broke the Olympic record by almost six seconds with a time of 2:56.3 in his first heat. The following day, he won his semifinal, only four seconds off his record-setting pace.

In the final heat, he won the 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. He continued to compete after recovering from typhoid fever, and qualified for the 1928 Olympic team.

Later life

In 1929, Skelton married Elizabeth E. Railton Skelton of Houston. He subsequently relocated to Houston and worked with construction and insurance firms. At the age of 38, in 1942, he enlisted in the Navy, serving for three years in the South Pacific, and was later decorated with the silver star combat medal. Little can be found about his life in Houston.

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

Honors

In 1994, Northwestern University admitted Robert into its Athletic Hall of Fame as a posthumous honor.

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. ^ "International Swimming Hall of Fame, Robert Skelton". ishof.org. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
3. ^ "Wilmette History, Bob Skelton, Gold Medal Swimmer". www.wilmette.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
4. "Over Thirty to Be in Contests", Kenosha News, Kenosha, Wisconsin, 6 December 1922, pg. 17
5. "International Swimming Hall of Fame, Bob Skelton". ishof.org. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
6. ^ "Olympedia Biography, Bob Skelton". olympedia.org. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
7. "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

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• 1903 births
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• 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
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