Hedy Bienenfeld facts for kids
Hedy Bienenfeld-Wertheimer
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Citizenship | Austrian-American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 October 1907 Vienna, Austria |
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| Died | September 24, 1976 (aged 68) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resting place | Vienna Central Cemetery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | breaststroke, freestyle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hakoah Vienna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Hedwig "Hedy" Bienenfeld (born October 17, 1907 – died September 24, 1976) was an amazing swimmer from Austria. After she got married, she was also known as Hedy Wertheimer. She won a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1927 European Aquatics Championships.
Hedy also swam in the 1928 Summer Olympics. She won many medals at the Maccabiah Games in the 1930s. These games were held in Mandatory Palestine, which is now Israel. She earned five gold medals, one silver, and one bronze in total.
Contents
Biography
Early Swimming Career
Hedy Bienenfeld was Jewish. She swam for a special Jewish sports club called Hakoah Vienna. This club started in 1909 because Jewish people were not allowed to join other sports clubs.
When Hedy was 15, in 1924, she won a big swimming race. It was a five-mile open-water competition called Quer durch Wien (Across Vienna). This race took place on the Danube river and about 500,000 people watched it! In 1925, she came in second place in the same race.
Because she was so good at swimming, Hedy became a popular swimsuit model. She appeared in Austrian magazines. She won almost every Austrian national breaststroke title during the 1920s and 1930s.
European and Olympic Success
In 1927, when Hedy was 19, she won a bronze medal. This was for the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1927 European Aquatics Championships in Italy. For many years, Hedy was one of only two Austrian swimmers to win a medal at these championships. The other was Fritzi Löwy.
Hedy also competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She swam in the women's 200-meter breaststroke event. She was 20 years old at the time and finished in 13th place.
In 1929, Hedy set a new world record. She swam 500 meters in breaststroke in just nine minutes. She was so famous that she even inspired a character in a novel! The book was called The Pupil Gerber by Friedrich Torberg.
In 1930, Hedy married her swimming coach, Zsigo Wertheimer. In 1937, she set another record, this time for the Austrian 100-meter breaststroke.
Maccabiah Games Medals
Hedy won many medals at the Maccabiah Games. These games are like the Olympics, but for Jewish athletes from all over the world.
At the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine (now Israel), she won three gold medals:
- 100-meter backstroke
- 200-meter breaststroke
- 4x100-meter freestyle relay
She also won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle and a bronze medal in the 300-meter freestyle.
At the 1935 Maccabiah Games, also in Mandatory Palestine, she won two more gold medals:
- 200-meter breaststroke
- 4x100-meter freestyle relay
Life After Swimming
Because Hedy and her husband were Jewish, they had to leave Austria in 1938. This was before World War II, when the Nazis took control of Austria. They first moved to Great Britain. For a short time in 1940, they were held in a camp on the Isle of Man.
Later, they moved to London and then to the United States. In the U.S., they first worked as swimming instructors in New York. Then, they started a successful real estate business in Florida. In 1952, they became American citizens.
After her husband passed away in 1965, Hedy moved back to Vienna. She helped her lifelong friend and swimming rival, Fritzi Löwy, who was battling cancer. Hedy did not have any children. When she passed away in 1976, she was buried in the Jewish section of the Vienna Central Cemetery.
