Daniels, Charles

Charles Daniels, in full Charles Meldrum Daniels, (born March 24, 1885, U.S.—died August 8, 1973, Carmel Valley, California), American swimmer who won seven Olympic medals and was the originator of the “American crawl,” which became the predominant freestyle form.

At the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri, Daniels was America’s star swimmer, winning gold medals in the 220-yard and 440-yard freestyle and the 4 × 50-yard freestyle relay, a silver in the 100-yard freestyle, and a bronze in the 50-yard freestyle. He continued to dominate at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, with a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle, and at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, where he won a gold in the 100-metre freestyle and a bronze as a member of the 4 × 200-metre freestyle relay team.

Daniels set 14 world records during a four-day period in 1905, making him the world record holder at every freestyle distance from 25 yards to 1 mile (1,609 metres). From 1904 to 1911 he won Amateur Athletic Union championships 31 times. One of the most influential swimmers of his day, Daniels pioneered a modification of the Australian crawl that emphasized the use of the whole leg and synchronized six kicks for every two-arm cycle. He was inducted into both the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (1988) and the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1965).