Where Freestyle Swimming REALLY Comes From

·27 min·2 clips

Alec Wickham swam into a newly federated Australia that was actively deporting Pacific Islanders under the White Australia Policy.

This episode uncovers the forgotten story of Alec Wickham, a 14-year-old Solomon Islander-Australian who, in 1901, introduced the freestyle swimming stroke to competitive sport during a race in Sydney. Historian Gary Osmond and Wickham's relative Dorothy Wickham trace the stroke's origins to the Solomon Islands, explore Wickham's life navigating racism in newly federated Australia, and examine his lasting legacy on global swimming.

As heard by us

A beach race, a new stroke, and the racism that followed.

At Bronte Beach in 1901, the episode follows a dark-skinned Solomon Islands teenager as he dives into a race with a stroke the crowd had not seen before.

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Why you'd press play

A 14-year-old at Bronte Beach turns one race into swimming history.

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