Eleanor Garatti-Saville

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexFemale
Full nameEleanor Agnes•Garatti-Saville
Used nameEleanor•Garatti-Saville
Born12 June 1909 in Belvedere, California (USA)
Died9 September 1998 in Walnut Creek, California (USA)
AffiliationsWestern Women's Club, San Francisco (USA)
NOC United States
Medals OG
Gold 2
Silver 1
Bronze 1
Total 4

Biography

Competing in 1928 as Miss Eleanor Garatti, and in 1932 as Mrs. Saville, she was the only U.S. swimmer to be on the winning relay teams at both the Amsterdam and Los Angeles Olympics. On both occasions she helped the U.S. to new world records. In the 100m freestyle, Saville-Garatti bettered the Olympic record in the heats in both 1928 and 1932, but failed to win either final. However she had the distinction of becoming the first woman to win two individual Olympic medals in the shortest freestyle event. When she won the second of her two AAU 100m outdoor freestyle titles in 1929, she set a new world record, becoming the first woman to swim under 1:10 for the distance.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1928 Summer Olympics Swimming (Aquatics) USA Eleanor Garatti
100 metres Freestyle, Women (Olympic) 2 Silver
4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women (Olympic) United States 1 Gold
1932 Summer Olympics Swimming (Aquatics) USA Eleanor Garatti-Saville
100 metres Freestyle, Women (Olympic) 3 Bronze
4 × 100 metres Freestyle Relay, Women (Olympic) United States 1 Gold

Special Notes