Carole Garnett-Wheeler was a competitive swimmer from Rhode Island. Born in Narragansett, Rhode Island, on September 6, 1898, she was a U.S. women’s swim team member during the 1924 Paris Olympics. Eleven swimming events were contested, six for men and five for women. The competitions were held from Sunday July 13, 1924, to Sunday July 20, 1924. There were 169 participants from 23 countries competing.
The United States team, coached by Bill Bachrach, won 19 of the 33 medals, and 9 of the 11 gold medals. Euphrasia Donnelly, Gertrude Ederle, Ethel Lackie and Mariechen Wehselau won gold for the US team in the 4 x 100 m freestyle relay. The Olympics that year featured Johnny Weissmuller, swimming’s first superstar, who won five Olympic gold medals. He won the 100m freestyle and the 4x200m relay team event at both the 1924 Paris Games and the 1928 Amsterdam Games. He also won gold in the 400m freestyle and a bronze medal in the water polo competition in Paris.’
Throughout his career, Weissmuller set 28 world records. His 1927 world record for the 100-yard freestyle was unbeaten for 17 years. This was a remarkable length of time during a period of rapid development in the sport. Much of his success was due to his revolutionary high-riding stroke, flutter kick, and head-turning breathing. Weissmuller won far fewer gold medals than recent swimming icons such as Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps. But this was due to the limited number of events available to him. Given his margin of superiority over his rivals, some experts still regard him as the greatest swimmer of all time.
After his swimming career, Weissmuller became a movie star. He starred as Tarzan in 12 films and became the actor most identified with the character. He and Carole Garnett-Wheeler became lifelong friends after the 1924 Olympics. Her first husband was Colonel Thomas Ogden Humphreys, and she divorced him in 1935. In 1936, she married Henry S. Wheeler, mayor of Newport, Rhode Island. Henry Wheeler was born in Akron, Ohio and at age 4, moved with his family to Newport. He enlisted for service at the outbreak of World War I and saw active duty as a yeoman in 1917. Wheeler died in a 1936 car crash shortly after marrying Carole Garnett.
After her swimming career ended, she taught swimming and diving for local high school and college teams. She was active in her community, serving a term as president of the Rhode Island Republican Women’s Club. She died in Wakefield, Rhode Island on April 12, 1978, and was buried at Island Cemetery in Newport.
Carole Garnett-Wheeler was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1968.
For additional reading:
“Olympic Medal Winners,” Olympics Committee, Jan.26, 2007.
“Olympedia – Swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics,” Dec. 16, 2023.