John Arthur Jarvis

John Arthur Jarvis ( born February 24, 1872 in Leicester, † May 9, 1933 in St Pancras ) was a British swimmer and multiple Olympic champion.

Jarvis lived in Leicester, where he worked as a house painter. He was a member of Leicester Swimming Club. As a swimmer, he had an extraordinary talent. Although he was a specialist in long-distance swimming, which did not prevent him, however, to be active in water polo and jumping in the water itself, and this quite successfully. In addition, he worked constantly with the improvement of swimming styles and was engaged in water rescue.

At the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900, he became Olympic champion in the 1000 m and 4000 m. Jarvis was also reported for the British team in water polo, which won the gold medal. It is not certain whether he actually came into use, especially since he was not a member of the participating teams from Osborne Swimming Club Manchester. In the official list of winners of the IOC, he therefore will not run as a medalist in water polo, but only with its two won gold medals in swimming.

Jarvis preferred in the Games nor the side swimming. Two years later, he added this swimming style to a hand -over and developed with the British professional swimmer Joey Nuttall special kicking, the Jarvis - Nuttall - kick. With this style, he won in Berlin in 1902 the Emperor price. However, he was not allowed to bring in his native England, the trophy and received instead a photograph.

The high cost of travel to the Summer Olympics in 1904 in St. Louis were one reason why at that time only three athletes went to the United Kingdom at the start. Jarvis was at that time still the world's best swimmers, and no doubt the chances of more Olympic success by him were taken.

At the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens, he was there again. In the contest over a mile, he placed second ( silver ) behind his compatriot Henry Taylor, and over 400 m, he finished in third place (bronze). With the British team he reached a bronze medal in the relay competition on 4x250 m.

Jarvis won in his career 108 championship titles, many of them bearing the name of world champion, but traded it in his time at the various events not official title fights in its present form. 28 British Championship titles he could win, including in 1904 a title in the water jump. He held several world records, even if they still had no official status at that time. Also bizarre bests Jarvis had to offer, so he won the 1904 national championships in the head long jump with 22.98 meters. In this sport, you had to stay as long as possible without swimming strokes under water after a plunge. After a minute or for an already earlier emergence of the distance was measured. This time his favorite discipline, which was held in 1904 at the Olympic Games, but was officially opened by the IOC no recognition.

After he had retired from active competition, he became the theorist and was given the nickname Professor Jarvis. Early as 1902 he had dealt in his book The Art of Swimming with the theory of the different swimming styles. Also for water rescue he campaigned actively and as an instructor. Even abroad, on the occasion of various swimming competitions, he taught various techniques of water rescue.

In 1968 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the international swimming sport.