Josephine MCKIM

Initially Josephine McKim represented the Carnegie Library Club of Homestead, Pennsylvania, but she later moved to the Canal Zone and competed as an unattached swimmer. She originally specialized in the longer distances and won the AAU 440y in 1929 and the one mile in 1928 and 1929. Following these successes, her second place in the 100m freestyle at the 1932 U.S. Final Trials caused a major surprise; she swam to a creditable fourth place at the Los Angeles Games before winning a gold medal and a share in a new world record in the Olympic freestyle relay. She later had a brief acting career, appearing in several movies. Her most notable appearance was a nude underwater dance scene with Johnny Weissmüller in the 1934 movie Tarzan and his Mate, when she was Maureen O’Sullivan’s body double. In 1991 McKim was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.