Aileen Soule, 96; Won Gold Medal in 1920 Olympics

Swimmer and diver Aileen Riggin Soule, the oldest female U.S. Olympic gold medalist, has died at 96.

Soule, who won her gold medal at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, at the age of 14, died Thursday night at a Honolulu nursing home.

In 1924, Soule competed in the Paris Olympics and won the silver in the springboard, as well as a bronze in the 100-meter backstroke.

“Swimming was her life and joy,” stepdaughter Patti Anderson said. “It kept her young.”

Soule was born May 2, 1906, in Newport, R.I., and spent her childhood in New York. She moved to Hawaii in 1957 and swam daily at a pool or at Waikiki Beach well into her 90s.

She and her 17 female teammates almost didn’t get a chance to compete in the 1920 Olympics because officials were concerned about them traveling with the team’s 331 men. Chaperones softened those fears, and the women took care of any concerns that they weren’t athletically prepared.

In war-impoverished Belgium, the aquatic events were held in a muddy canal. After earning 539.9 points in the springboard competition, she received a victory trophy from King Albert.

Soule traveled the world on her own in the 1930s, putting on diving exhibitions and teaching clinics.