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George Van Cleaf

Full name: George W. Van Cleaf
Gender: Male
Height: 5-8 (173 cm)
Weight: 146 lbs (66 kg)
Born: October 8, 1879 in Northfield, New York, United States
Died: January 6, 1905 in Brooklyn, New York, United States
Affiliations: NYAC, New York (USA)
Country: USA United States
Sport: Swimming, Water Polo

Medals: 1 Gold (1 Total)

Biography

George Van Cleaf competed in swimming and water polo at the 1904 Olympics. Van Cleaf was a New York native who first represented the Knickerbocker AC. When that club was disbanded Van Cleaf joined the New York AC. He swam in the tank at the NYAC, but also did a lot of ocean swimming at Bath Beach, near where he lived. Van Cleaf was known to swim in early spring as soon as ice had cleared the water.

Like many of the 1904 water poloists, who competed in the pond that was also used for the Livestock Exhibition of the 1904 World’s Fair, Van Cleaf died of typhoid fever only a few months after the Olympics. His obituaries noted that he had won “over 200” trophies in swimming contests.

Results

Games Age City Sport Event Team NOC Rank Medal
1904 Summer 24 St. Louis Water Polo Men's Water Polo New York Athletic Club-1 USA 1 Gold
1904 Summer 24 St. Louis Swimming Men's 4 × 50 Yard Freestyle Relay New York Athletic Club #2-4 USA 4

Men's Water Polo

Games Age City Sport Team NOC Phase Unit Rank Date Result G
1904 Summer 24 St. Louis Water Polo New York Athletic Club-1 USA Final Round Match 1/2 1 1904-09-06 New York Athletic Club-1 6, Chicago Athletic Association-2 0 0
1904 Summer 24 St. Louis Water Polo New York Athletic Club-1 USA Semi-Finals Match #1 1 1904-09-05 New York Athletic Club-1 5, Missouri Athletic Club-3 0 0

Men's 4 × 50 Yard Freestyle Relay

Games Age City Sport Team NOC Phase Unit Rank
1904 Summer 24 St. Louis Swimming New York Athletic Club #2-4 USA Final Standings 4
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