Not elder law: For 90 year old Olympian “Swimming is my life”

Adolph Kiefer celebrated his 90th birthday last Friday as he celebrates every day — with a 30-minute workout in the water.  “Swimming is my life,” the Wadsworth resident said. What a life it has been.  Growing up inChicago, he set a world record in the backstroke as a teenager atRoosevelt High School. At 18, he won the gold medal for the 100-meterbackstroke at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, a contest where he met AdolfHitler.  “I should’ve thrown him in the pool,” Kiefer said. 

Inthe wake of his Olympic success, Kiefer was invited to Hollywood toaudition to play Tarzan in the movies. The 1950s saw him starring inaquatic shows in which he performed diving and swimming stunts — likeracing against seals.  Over the years, he invented about a dozenswimming products, including the first nylon racing suit. A profile inAquatics International magazine described him as “a combination ofThomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.”

Kiefer hasspent much of his life trying to expose inner-city kids to swimming –kids like he was growing up on Chicago’s Northwest Side during theDepression.  Last month, Kiefer donated $20,000 in swimmingequipment to the Chicago Park District, which is providing lessons toevery child enrolled in its summer camp program this year.

More:  http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1035032,5_1_WA02_KIEFER_S1.article