Matthew Mann

Who was Matthew Mann?

Matthew "Matt" Mann II was a British-born American college swimming coach and was coach of the men's swim team in the 1952 Summer Olympics that won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal.

He learnt to swim at eight in his hometown of Leeds, England at the public bath house. He could afford to swim there once a week, on 'dirty water days', when it only cost a penny. Otherwise, he swam in the outdoor sluiceways that drained from the wool mills.

He became England's boy champion at 9 and a senior champion at 14. In his early 20s, he emigrated penniless to North America, with his International Swimming Hall of Fame biography stating:

Matt emigrated steerage to the USA, was stopped at Ellis Island for insufficient funds, shipped to Toronto in a sealed railroad car with $2.00 left in his pocket. Walking down Yonge Street, he found a room for $1.00 a week, then bought a week's meal tickets in a bean wagon for his other dollar. "I was on top of the world," said Matt. "I had no money but my needs were taken care of and I had a whole week to look for a job."