Aileen Riggin

Gold Medal, Springboard Diving, Antwerp 1920

Women's springboard diving had its Olympic premiere at the Antwerp Games in 1920. At age 14, winner Aileen Riggin became the first woman to receive an Olympic gold medal in that event. Four years later, she returned to Paris and placed second in the springboard and third in the 100-meter backstroke, the first time any athlete had won individual medals in both swimming and diving in the same Games. Here is her story:

I was a member of the first American women's swimming and diving team. There had been some women from northern European countries in the 1912 Games in Stockholm, but 1920 was to be the first time that American women participated in regular Olympic events.

In those days women did not compete in strenuous athletics. No one swam very far. It was not considered healthy for girls to overexert themselves or to swim as far as a mile. There was a great deal of publicity against women competing in athletics. It took a great deal of persuasion by the American women to be permitted to compete in the Olympics.

Most of the divers were from New York, but there was no pool for women that had a 3-meter or 10-foot springboard. There was one indoor pool in New Jersey, but that meant a three-hour commute for us after school. We practiced there once a week even though the water was only 6 feet deep under the board and it was very dangerous. When the outdoor season opened, we practiced at an outdoor lagoon at Manhattan Beach on Long Island. It was an hour's commute, and we had to go there for diving when the tide was high, whether it was 6 o'clock in the morning or 6 o'clock at night. The swimming coach worked with us because there was no diving coach.

The Olympians wore blue blazers with our USA emblem on the front pocket. White flannel skirts were worn by women, and white flannel slacks were worn by men. At 14, I was considered a child so I wore a short skirt. The rest of the women wore long skirts, which were the fashion of the day. We all wore white shoes and straw hats.

Our send-off to Antwerp, Belgium, was from the Manhattan Opera House in New York. We marched from there to the ferry and then got on the Princess Matoika in Hoboken, N.J. The Princess Matoika was a transport that had been in service during the war and was now carrying supplies to our forces in Europe. My heart sank when I saw the old tub. It was a bad wreck of a ship, but it proudly displayed "American Olympic Team" across the side in large letters.