Montague Holbein

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Montague Holbein (1891)

Montague "Monty" Alfred Holbein (born August 11, 1861 in Twickenham , London , † July 1, 1944 ) was a British cyclist and open water swimmer .

Montague Holbein was a textile merchant by profession, but besides his job he was active in various sports such as running cross-country , cycling and swimming . In 1878 he learned to ride a bicycle and began cycling the following year, in which he was mainly active from 1886 to 1891. During these years he set a total of 32 British records, mainly 12- and 24-hour records, for example on November 18, 1891 on the Herne Hill Velodrome with 361 miles and 1,446 yards (around 582.3 kilometers) over 24 hours. In 1891 he finished second behind his compatriot George Pilkington Mills in the 600 km long Bordeaux – Paris cycle race .

In the following years Holbein made a name for himself as an open water swimmer. So on July 25, 1899, he covered a 43-mile stretch in the Thames , from Blackwall to Gravesend and back, and in later years made 50 miles in a row. Between 1901 and 1911 he made nine (other sources report eleven) unsuccessful attempts to swim the English Channel . He started three times in France and six times in England. His supervisor was the renowned trainer Harry Andrews , at times accompanied by the 1900 Olympian , Thomas William Burgess . In August 1901 he took off from France , but had to be pulled exhausted from the water four miles from Dover . His eyes were so affected by the salt water that he could not see for four days. In subsequent experiments he therefore wore a mask with glasses through which he could see.

In August 1904, Holbein's attempt to cross was part of the first canal race, in which he competed against the two swimmers Greasley and Hagerthy. Each swimmer was sponsored by a newspaper, Holbein's sponsor was the Daily Mirror . Holbein's wife played records on a gramophone on the escort boat to give him moral support. However, all three swimmers had to give up the race.

At the age of 75, Montague Holbein swam 18 miles down the Thames from Richmond to London Bridge . His main concern was to encourage his fellow British citizens to learn to swim, which many did not know at the time. For this reason he also wrote a book called Swimming , which appeared in 1903. In 1927 he was one of the founding members of the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) together with Burgess, who also trained the American canal swimmer Gertrude Ederle .

Web links

Commons : Montague Holbein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MA Holbein. In: Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. January 17, 2013, accessed September 27, 2015 .
  2. ^ A b The Illustrated London News, November 29, 1891
  3. ↑ Submitted by: Emma Mc Farnon: 9 people you didn't know made history swimming in the River Thames. In: History extra. April 5, 2015, accessed September 27, 2015 .
  4. ^ Dover Museum Image Bank. In: doverimagebank.org.uk. Retrieved September 27, 2015 .
  5. ↑ a b c Early Attempts. In: Dover Museum. Retrieved September 27, 2015 .
  6. ↑ Montague Holbein, The Man In The Mask. In: The Daily News of Open Water Swimming. January 20, 2012, accessed September 27, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Davies: Swimmer Montague Holbein being greased down for his attempt to swim. In: Getty Images. August 5, 1936, accessed September 27, 2015 .
  8. ^ About the CSA - Channel Swimming Association. In: Channel Swimming Association. November 7, 2015, accessed September 27, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Holbein, Montague
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Holbein, Montague Alfred (full name); Holbein, Monty (short name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British cyclist and swimmer
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Twickenham
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 1944