Francis Gailey
Quick Facts
Biography
Francis "Frank" Gailey (21 January 1882 – 10 July 1972) was an Australian-born American competition swimmer who swam in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1904 Olympics he won three silver medals, in the 220-yard freestyle, 440-yard freestyle and 880-yard freestyle, and a bronze medal in the one-mile freestyle.
Gailey was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, but later emigrated to the United States and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1906. For the 1904 Olympics, he was sponsored by the Olympic Club of San Francisco. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially counts Gailey's four medals for the United States, although research undertaken by several Australian newspapers in 2008–09 showed that Gailey was an Australian citizen at the time. In 2009, the Australian Olympic Committee stated that "Gailey's medals, newly credited to Australia, increase the nation's total at summer Olympics to 449".