Jacob Abraham "Jabez" "Jappy" Wolffe (19 November 1876 – 22 October 1943) was a Scottish long distance swimmer and author of swimming books. He attempted but failed to swim the English Channel 22 times, between 1906 and 1921. He came closest to success in the September of 1919, with an attempt of 14 hours 55 minutes, from Shakespeare Cliff, Dover, England "to within a quarter of a mile of the French coast".[1][2][3] He is also known for the differing historical accounts of his role as a trainer in the first, failed attempt of Gertrude Ederle to swim the channel.[1]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Jacob Abraham Wolffe |
| Born | November 19, 1876 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | October 22, 1943 (aged 66) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
Biography
editBorn in Glasgow, Scotland, on 19 November 1876 as Jacob Abraham Wolffe, he was generally known by the first name Jabez.[1] He occasionally published as "Jappy Wolffe".[4]
English Channel cross attempts
editAmong his attempts to cross the channel was one in August 1907, when he made his swim with Ted Heaton and their efforts gradually turned into "something of a race". While both men failed on that occasion, a primary source noted that it was a "fine struggle almost successful", and that Wolffe came "within three quarters of a mile" of the coast when wind drove him away from the shore.[5][non-primary source needed]
As stated in Wolffe's obituary in The New York Times in 1943,
The nearest he came to attaining his goal was in September of 1919, when he swam from Shakespeare Cliff at Dover to within a quarter of a mile of the French coast in 14 hours 55 minutes.[1]
Ederle training controversy
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2024) |
Gertrude Ederle was an American swimming champion, Olympic champion and record breaker who trained with Wolffe for her first attempt to cross the English Channel to France.[6][7] Regarding the failed first attempt, the New York Times, in its obituary for Wolffe, states that on returning to the United States, Ederle
issued a statement denying that she had been forced by fatigue and cold to abandon the swim, saying that, instead, Mr. Wolffe had ordered her to quit. Mr. Wolffe denied this, insisting that the swimmer had collapsed after suffering a cramp.[1]
Others state that training with Wolffe prior to the attempt did not go well, as he continually tried to slow her pace, saying that she would never last at that speed.[citation needed] Then, in her first attempt at the Channel on 18 August 1925, she was disqualified when he ordered another swimmer (who was keeping her company in the water), Ishak Helmy, to recover her from the water.[citation needed] According to both Ederle and other witnesses, she was not "drowning" but resting, floating face-down; she bitterly disagreed with his decision.[citation needed] As he had commented that women may not be capable of swimming the Channel, it was speculated that he did not want Ederle to succeed.[8][better source needed]
Ederle successfully swam the Channel one year later, from Cape Gris-Nez in France to Kingsdown, Kent, in 14 hours and 34 minutes later, after training with coach Bill Burgess.[9][better source needed]
Publications
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e NYT Staff (23 October 1943). "Jabez Wolffe Dead. English Swimmer, 66. Failed 22 Times to Cross the channel. Trained Ederle". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 November 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Early Attempts". www.dovermuseum.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ "The Channel Swim". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 12581. 11 October 1911. p. 8. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Wolffe, Jappy (1907). Text-book of Swimming. 12 Burleigh Street, Strand, London: Health and Strength.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Nearly across the channel–Wolffe's fine struggle almost successful". Cheltenham Chronicle and Gloucestershire Graphic. 10 August 1907. p. 8.
- ^ "Ederle". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "Ederle, Gertrude". Lexico US English Dictionary. Oxford University Press.[dead link]
- ^ Mortimer, Gavin (26 April 2008). "When Gertrude Ederle turned the tide". ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
Afterwards, her then coach, Jabez Wolffe, had predicted that a woman wasn't tough enough to take on the Channel. 'The torments of seasickness, indigestion, inflammation of the eyes, great cold and other disagreeable features may prove too much for any woman swimmer,' he told reporters. ... On her first attempt to cross the Channel she'd failed six miles from England, after nine hours in the water. There were allegations that, out of envy, her swim had been sabotaged by her coach, Wolffe, a burly Scot who between 1906 and 1921 tried and failed to swim the Channel 22 times.
[better source needed] - ^ "The history of goggles" (PDF). ishof.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2018.[better source needed]
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