Alice Bridges, American Olympic bronze medal-winning (1936) swimmer died she was , 94.

Alice W. Bridges (later Roche) was an American swimmer, who at age 20, competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin died she was , 94.. It first appeared that Bridges, who originally was a back-up contestant, had actually won her event. Several hours later the judges reversed their decision and gave the Gold and Silver to two women from the Netherlands, leaving the bronze for Bridges.

(July 19, 1916 – May 5, 2011)

Mumford River Falls (as seen from the Alice Bridges Bridge

Bridges was a native of Uxbridge, Massachusetts. She and her twin sister learned to swim in a pond in Uxbridge, and she later trained at the Olympic pool in nearby Whitinsville, Massachusetts. When the sudden chance arose for her to participate, townspeople raised funds to pay for her travel to Berlin, which she otherwise could not have afforded.

Alice Bridges Bridge

1936 Olympic Swimmer, Alice Bridge's, "Sign", on Mumford River Bridge, with Colonel Seth Read's. 1777 Grist Mill in Background, downtown Uxbridge, Massachusetts

In 2008, the State of Massachusetts, and local officials named the downtown Mumford River bridge in Uxbridge, in Bridges' honor, in her 92nd year.^[1] Until her death, she resided in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The building in the background was a gristmill and was built in 1777 by Colonel Seth Read, from this town, who founded Erie, Pennsylvania.

 

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