Alfred Nakache

Alfred Nakache (1915–1983) was a Jewish French swimmer and water polo player. A member of the French team for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games, he also swam in the first post-war Summer Olympics in London in 1948. He and Ben Helfgott are the only known Jewish athletes to have competed in the Olympics after surviving the Holocaust.[1]

Alfred Nakache

Nakache in 1938
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  France
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 1938 London 4×200 m freestyle

Biography

Nakache set the world record in the 200 metre breaststroke with a time of 2:36.8[2] on 6 July 1941 in the long course seawater pool in Catalans in Marseilles. Since FINA at the time recognized world records set in either short course (25 metre) or long course (50 metre) pools for the 200 metre breaststroke, his record was easily broken by Joe Verdeur in 1946 in a short course pool. If records were measured as they are today in long and short course pools, Verdeur would have broken Nakache's long course world record of 2:36.8 in 1948 at the US Olympic trials with a time of 2:36.3. With Alexandre Jany and Georges Vallerey Jr., he broke the world record for 3 X 100m medley on 8 August 1946.[3]

Nakache was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2019. He was the subject of a French documentary in 2001, entitled Alfred Nakache, the Swimmer of Auschwitz and the 2017 French documentary entitled “Nage Libre”, directed by Thierry Lashéras, coproduced by EVA Productions and France Télévisions, with the participation of French Olympic swimmer Fabien Gilot , in the steps of Nakache.

Nakache lived in Toulouse with his wife Paule. Their daughter Annie was born in Constantine, Algeria on 12 August 1941. In January 1944 she was deported to Auschwitz with her parents and later was murdered in a gas chamber with her mother.

After ending his career in Reunion Island, he died on 4 August 1983, after becoming ill while swimming in the port of Cerbère. He is buried in the Le Py cemetery in Sète.

Records & championships
  • World—200 m butterfly—1941
  • World—relay 3 X 100 m3 strokes—1946
  • Europe—100 m butterfly—1941
  • France—400 m butterfly—1943
  • France—relay 4 X 200 m freestyle—1946
  • Champion of France—100 m freestyle in 1935–38, and 1941–42
  • Champion of France—200 m freestyle in 1937–38, and 1941–42
  • Champion of France—200 m butterfly in 1938, 1941–42, and 1946
  • Champion of France—400 m freestyle in 1942
  • Champion of France—relay 4 X 200 m freestyle in 1937–39, 1942, 1944–52 (13 titles, including 9 consecutive)
  • University champion—100 m freestyle in 1936
  • Champion of North Africa—100 m freestyle in 1931

Maccabiah Games silver medal in 1935–100 m freestyle

See also

References
  1. Steve Lipman (13 August 2004). "The Olympics and The Holocaust". Jewish Federations of North America. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013.
  2. New York Times 9 July 1941 Page 26
  3. Alfred Nakache, une vie à contre-courant Le Monde; Paris [Paris]14 May 2019


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