Hodgson, George

▪ Canadian athlete

born October 12, 1893, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

died May 1, 1983, Montreal

      Canadian swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and set several world records. Hodgson was undefeated in three years of international swimming competition. His 1912 world record time of 22 min in the 1,500-metre freestyle remained unbroken for 11 years.

      Hodgson set a new world record of 22 min 23.0 sec in the preliminary heats of the 1,500-metre freestyle at the 1912 Games. In an unprecedented performance, he set three world records in the final of that race. His time at the 1,000-metre mark of 14 min 37.0 sec set the record for that distance. At 1,500 metres, having shattered his own record by 23 seconds and finished far ahead of silver medalist John Hatfield of Great Britain, he continued on, swimming another 109 metres and breaking the world record for the mile.

      After his record-setting performance in the 1,500-metre event, Hodgson won the 400-metre freestyle with a time of 5 min 24.4 sec, again beating Hatfield. His two gold medals were the first ever won by a Canadian swimmer, and Hodgson remained the only Canadian swimming champion until Alex Baumann won two golds in 1984. The 18-year-old Hodgson retired from international competition following the Olympics. Hodgson, who never had a swimming lesson or a coach, credited his success to his natural physical condition.

* * *