Bror Charles Norelius (March 4, 1882 – November 22, 1974) was a Swedish-American swimmer and coach. In 1903 he won all freestyle events from 200 m to one mile at the Swedish championships.[1] He competed at the 1906 Olympics in the one mile and 4×250 m freestyle events and finished fifth in the relay.[2] The same year, after gaining popularity as an Olympian, Norelius became a swimming coach. He was an early advocate of the modern crawl style, and argued that frequent leg kicks only exhaust the swimmer and increase the drag without adding much propulsion. Later Norelius moved to the United States and coached there until 1966, when he broke his hip in a bad fall. His most famous trainees include Arne Borg, John J. Pershing, Barbara Hutton, Grace Moore, Edward VIII, and his daughter, triple Olympic champion Martha Norelius. He also taught swimming to his other three children.[3] During World War II, Norelius was responsible for rehabilitation exercises in water at the Ashford General Hospital in White Sulphur Springs.[1] He died in Florida, aged 92.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 4, 1882 Stockholm, Sweden |
| Died | November 22, 1974 (aged 92) Palm Beach, Florida, United States |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Club | Stockholms KK |
References edit
- ^ a b Charles Norelius at Breakers Pool Has Taught Many Art Of Swimming. Palm Beach Daily News. February 8, 1959
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Charles Norelius". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
- ^ "MARTHA NORELIUS (USA) 1967 Honor Swimmer". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.