Alice Bridges

Who was Alice Bridges?

Alice W. Bridges was an American competition swimmer, who at age 20, represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. It first appeared that Bridges, who originally was a back-up contestant, had actually won her event. Several hours later the judges reversed their decision and gave the gold and silver to two women from the Netherlands, leaving the bronze for Bridges.

Bridges was a native of Uxbridge, Massachusetts. She and her twin sister learned to swim in a pond in Uxbridge, and she later trained at the Olympic pool in nearby Whitinsville, Massachusetts. When the sudden chance arose for her to participate, townspeople raised funds to pay for her travel to Berlin, which she otherwise could not have afforded.