George William GAIDZIK

By sharing third place in the 1908 Olympic springboard event, George Gaidzik, the son of Polish immigrants, who represented the Chicago AA, prevented the Germans from making a clean sweep of the medals. He also placed fifth in the platform in 1908 and competed in all three diving events at the 1912 Olympics but failed to place in any of them. Gaidzik won the AAU outdoor platform title from 1909-1911 and was the indoor champion in 1910 and 1912. Due to an error by the nurse who reported his birth, his name was mistakenly registered as “Edward Gadick”. His mother was forced to make a sworn statement to this effect before he was issued with a passport to take him to the 1908 Games.

Gaidzik and his fifteen year old son died when a sudden storm capsized their boat on Lake Michigan.