 Rawls in 1935 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Katherine Louise Rawls | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | "Katy," "The Minnow" | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1917-06-14)June 14, 1917 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | April 8, 1982(1982-04-08) (aged 64) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle,springboard diving | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Miami Beach Swimming Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Katherine Louise Rawls (June 14, 1917[1] – April 8, 1982), also known by her married namesKatherine Thompson andKatherine Green, was an American competition swimmer anddiver. She was the United States national champion in multiple events during the 1930s. She was a 1932 Olympic silver medalist in3-metre springboard diving and in the 1936 Olympics repeated as a silver medalist on the 3-meter board, while capturing a bronze medal as part of the 4x100 freestyle relay team.[2]
Rawls was born inNashville, Tennessee to William and Sadie Rawls on June 14, 1917.[2][3] She learned to swim at the age of two,[4] inSaint Augustine, Florida, and took up diving at the age of seven inTampa, from a 25-foot (7.6m) platform.[5] During her swimming career she was known asKaty and nicknamedThe Minnow.[4] Her sisters Dorothy (Williams[6]), and Evelyn (McKee[6]), were also Florida state champion swimmers,[7] and the siblings were known collectively as the "Rawls' Diving Trio".[5] Together with sister Peggy (Wedgworth[6]) and brother Sonny, a champion diver,[2][8][9][10] the Ralings siblings went to junior contests and exhibitions, as "Rawls' Water Babies".[2]
Rawls caused a sensation at the 1931 U.S. National Championships at just 14, when she defeated starEleanor Holm in the 300mindividual medley setting a newworld record,[11][12] and the next day defeated reigning champion Margaret Hoffman in the 220 yardbreaststroke.[13][14]
Rawls moved fromHollywood, Florida[12] toFort Lauderdale in 1932.[15] She received sponsorship fromMiami Beach to attend the trials for the1932 Olympics, and was sometimes misidentified with that city.[3] At the trials, she unexpectedly failed to qualify in the 200m-meter breaststroke:[16][17] told by her coach to conserve her strength and aim for the third and last qualifying spot, she narrowly finished fourth.[18] After her loss, she rowed across to thespringboard diving, where she impressively beat championGeorgia Coleman in the trials.[19] She scratched from thehigh diving because of high winds.[20]
At the 1932 Olympics, Rawls competed in the3 metre springboard diving event, and finished second to Georgia Coleman for the silver medal, losing to a rival she had recently beaten in the U.S. trials.
Rawls managed to beat Coleman at the National championships that September: one of four victories,[21] the maximum then possible at one meet.[22] She enjoyed sustained success thereafter, often competing in exhibition and carnival events, including a "swimdecathlon" in 1934 before a crowd of 50,000, in which she won every event.[23] By 1935, theNew York Times considered her the favorite in seven of the nine events in the upcoming Nationals, depending on which she chose to compete in.[2] Her best swimming events were the individual medley and the distance events,[2] neither of which wereOlympic events in the 1930s. (The medley used only threestrokes: thebutterfly stroke was not separated from the breaststroke until 1952.)
She succeeded in qualifying for the 100-meter freestyle in the U.S. trials for the1936 Summer Olympics by winning the 100-meter event. After travelling to Berlin, however, in the intense international competition of the 100-meter Olympic finals, she finished seventh. Rawls won a bronze medal in thewomen's 4×100-meter freestyle relay with the team ofBernice Lapp,Mavis Freeman andOlive McKean.[24] Inthe 3-meter springboard diving competition, she captured the silver medal, suffering a highly unexpected defeat on the last dive, to teammateMarjorie Gestring, who was herself just 13.[25] Subsequently, Rawls concentrated on swimming rather than diving.[26][27]
In 1937, hours after disembarking at San Francisco after a swimming tour of Japan, she commenced a three-day streak at the Nationals which produced an unprecedented four individual swimming titles.[28] For this she was namedAssociated Press Female Athlete of the Year for 1937,[29] and polled third for theJames E. Sullivan Award.[30] In 1938 she retained all four National titles. At the time she was holder of 18 national swimming records in breaststroke, freestyle, and medley events,[31] and had been undefeated in medley races for eight years.[2]
Rawls retired from swimming in 1939, but returned to diving for the trials of the1948 Olympics, placing fifth with 108.56 points. Second of the three qualifiers was eventual gold medalistVictoria Draves with a score of 111.14, and Marjorie Gestring fourth with a score of 110.67.[32]
Rawls won a total of 33 U.S. national titles:[2][6] 5 in diving and 28 in swimming, both indoors at the Spring Nationals and outdoors at the Summer Nationals.
In November 1937, Rawls' parents announced her engagement to advertising executive William Starr.[48] On May 18, 1938, unbeknown to her mother, Rawls married Theodore H. Thompson, anairplane pilot.[49] Subsequent to the marriage, she began work at the Thompson School of Aviation in Fort Lauderdale,[50] having qualified as a pilot during her swimming career. While continuing to swim at exhibitions, she decided to forgo competition at the 1939 Nationals, and retired from swimming when the1940 Olympics were cancelled due toWorld War II.[2][51] She was one of the initial 28 pilots who formed theWomen's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron in 1942, stationed at Detroit,[52] transporting military cargo by air as part of the U.S. war effort.[53] In 1943, her husband reportedly sued her for divorce, but dropped the charges anticipating her return from Detroit to his farm in Florida.[52]
Rawls was a swimming instructor for 20 years atThe Greenbrier inWhite Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.[6]
In 1965, she was one of the inaugural inductees to theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame, and officially opened its pool in Fort Lauderdale, near the former Casino Pool where she had trained in the 1930s.[2]
She died from cancer in 1982 after several years of illness.[6]
Most Individual Titles, Career: 14–Katherine Rawls,... 11–Dorothy Rawls,...11–Evelyn Rawls
Katherine Rawls ... ran off with the loft. spring board diving title ... broke her own world's record in the 300-meter medley championship, barely missed regaining her 220-yd. breast stroke title ... Minnow Rawls, whose three little sisters and one little brother are all swimming champions of some sort
list of champions: ... 220-yd. breast stroke—Katherine Rawls 300-metre medley—Katherine Rawls ... Familiar torotogravure readers are the Rawls sisters—Katherine (18), Evelyn (16), Dorothy (15), Peggy (10). Evelyn last week finished third in the free-style mile, fourth in the medley. Dorothy was fourth in the 220-yd. breast stroke.
Loses in 300-Meter Medley as Miss Rawls, 14, Clips 4 Seconds Off World's Mark. WINNER'S TIME IS 4:45 4–5...Miss Katherine Rawls, 14-year-old lassie of Hollywood, Fla
ALSO WINS IN 10-FOOT DIVE Scores 94.40 to Beat Miss Poynton, Olympic Champion
This year she decided not to defend her diving championship, to try for a clean sweep in four swimming events, the most any contestant is allowed to enter ... The three she won were 100-yd. freestyle, 300-yd. medley, 100-yd. breaststroke ... The one she lost was the 220-yd. freestyle
50,000 atJones Beach Watch Florida Girl Complete a Ten-Event Sweep.
But Swimmer, With 53, Gains Only One-Point Margin in Associated Press Poll
Third Place to Miss Rawls, Swimmer
Katherine ("Minnow") Rawls, 15, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: championships in lowboard diving and the 300-yd. medley swim, with a new world's record of 4:14.4; at the Women's National A. A. U. Championships, in Buffalo, New York.
Individual titles: 300-yd. medley — Katherine Rawls ... Low-board dive—Katherine Rawls .... In the highboard dive, Minnow Rawls placed second
Individual titles : ... 3-meter springboard diving: Katherine Rawls ... 300-meter medley: Katherine Rawls
Breaks Own U.S. Mark in the 300-Yard Medley, Winning Event in 4:06.3.
Katherine Rawls ... successfully defended her women's national indoor A. A. U. 100-yard breast-stroke title tonight and set a new record in doing it.
Takes 300-Meter Medley for Sixth Successive Year at National Championships.
Florida Star Boasts Record Total of 22 A. A. U. Crowns After Capturing 300 Yard Medley
Elizabeth Brennan ... winning the 500yard free-style championship by three yards from Miami Beach's Miss Katherine Rawls.
Katherine Rawls Thompson of Miami Beach: four swimming events (300-metre medley, 440-yd., 880-yd. and one-mile free style) in the women's national outdoor championships; for the second year in a row; finishing three of them in world-record-breaking time; atSanta Barbara, Calif.
Takes National A. A. U. Medley Title for Seventh Time
Gains National A. A. U. 440Yard Free-Style Honors in Meet on Coast
Florida Ace Takes U. S. 880-Yard Crown
Katherine Rawls ... had to break a national record and tie another to retain her titles in the 300-yard individual medley race and the 100-yard breast-stroke in the 1938 women's national swimming championships tonight.
Swimming Star to Be Bride of William Starr of Florida
Swimming Star Becomes Bride of T. H. Thompson, Aviator...Mrs. W. J. Rawls, the swimmer's mother, said that Katherine told her of the marriage by long distance telephone.
| Men's team |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Women's team | ||
