Cairo girl wins Olympic gold

Caroline Smith (Wikipedia; public domain)

Caroline Smith is probably not a name known to too many Girardeans these days, but 100 years ago she brought reflected glory to Cairo, Illinois, and Cape Girardeau by winning gold in the 1924 summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Smith, who later in life became Carolyn Snyder, was born July 21, 1906, in Cairo, the daughter of Egbert A. and Phyllis Mae Howard Smith Sr.

Her sister, Catherine, attended Cape Girardeau Teachers College, and Caroline Smith was taught to swim and dive by the college’s star football player, Chellis “Chubby” Chambers. Three years after his tutelage, she claimed the gold medal in the 10-meter platform competition in Paris, one day shy of her 18th birthday. It baffles me that someone with so little training could perform at this level. I’m left to conclude it was her natural abilities that gave her the skills to succeed.

It’s also interesting to note that one of the members of her Olympic swim team was future Tarzan movie star Johnny Weissmuller. Previous reporting in the Southeast Missourian's TBY publication noted that Weissmuller wanted Smith to play opposite him in the movies, but she nixed the idea.

The Southeast Missourian carried several articles about Smith's athletic performances, as well as her life after the 1924 Olympics.

Published July 2, 1924, in the Southeast Missourian:

WON DIVING HONORS WITH LITTLE WORK

How Miss Caroline Smith of Cairo, Illinois, won a place on the Olympic team with little training in diving is told by the Cairo Citizen in reporting a talk made by W.W. Beach, her brother-in-law, before the Cairo Rotary Cub. Miss Smith attended school in Cape Girardeau and has a wide acquaintance here.

“It was with the aid solely of a former trainer for Olympic teams, that she was able to receive coaching after leaving Cairo for New York for the preliminary tryout,” says the Citizen. “And to find a place to dive 32 feet, they had to search all over New York and Atlantic City, and then failed. Mr. Beach said that at Atlantic City they climbed up to the top of one of the piers, where they had a 25-foot dive, and managed to get three dives from that before the authorities stopped them.

“But it was absolutely grit and fearlessness of the Cairo girl, and her almost perfect diving, that gave her the place on the team. All of the other entrants had been spending the winter at Palm Beach, where they were in the water every day. Miss Smith had not been in the water since last fall, before going to New York. Further all of the other entrants had some organization behind them and some record of performance, all of which made the selection of Miss Smith the more remarkable.”

Published July 21, 1924, in the Southeast Missourian:

CAROLINE SMITH, CAIRO GIRL, IS CHAMPION DIVER

Miss Caroline Smith of Cairo, Illinois, won the world’s championship in high diving at the Olympic Games Sunday morning at Paris, France, by defeating experienced divers from 46 nations of the world. Her rise to stardom in the aquatic sport has been short and spectacular. It has been but three years since Miss Smith, a graduate of last year’s class at Cairo High School, learned to swim. Since then she has had no special training other than (what) she had just before entering the Olympic Games, and her phenomenal rise from obscurity in the athlete world has been due almost wholly to her own efforts.

Chellis “Chubby” Chambers, former football star on the Teachers College team here, taught her to swim and dive, but since then she has had no professional training until she went to New York for the tryouts. In these tryouts the judges and spectators marveled at her grace and skill in the plain 40-foot dive event and predicted victory for her across the ocean. This is the first time that the United States has brought home the honors in plain high diving and this adds to the already great honor given the young mid-westerner. Most of Miss Smith’s competitors from this country were already well known and were national champions.

Celebrated birthday today

Miss Smith is 18 years old today. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Smith, 2503 Walnut St., of Cairo. Her sister, Catherine, is a student in the Teachers College in Cape Girardeau, and was at home when the news came of her sister’s triumph in the semi-finals on Saturday. Miss Caroline’s mother accompanied her to Paris to the games.

Mr. Smith is president of the Cairo National Bank and one of Cairo’s most prominent citizens. Miss Caroline is popular in Cairo society and is well known in other towns in this section. She visited in Cape Girardeau with her sister two years ago and swam in the pool at the Teachers College while here.

Mr. Smith and his daughter, Catherine, will go to New York in about two weeks to meet Miss Caroline and her mother.

Smith didn’t appear on the big screen with Johnny Weissmuller, but she did make newspapers nationwide again in 1925.

Published April 1, 1925, in the Southeast Missourian:

MISS SMITH SHOCKS ‘EM

FORMER CAPE STUDENT HAD PHOTO TAKEN

By United Press.

EVANSTON, Ill., April 1. — The campus of Northwestern University buzzed with excitement today when it became known that a beautiful and popular freshman co-ed had been barred from a students’ theatrical performance because she allowed herself to be photographed in a costume described as too abbreviated.

The girl, Miss Caroline Smith of Cairo, Illinois, is the world champion woman fancy diver, winning the event at the Olympic Games at Paris last summer. She is a also an accomplished dancer.

Selected for one of the leading parts in a musical comedy, she was photographed by a student for the purpose of advertising the event.

The picture showing Miss Smith in dancing costume came to the attention of Mary Ross Potter, dean of women, and Miss Smith’s name was immediately removed from the program as Miss Potter’s option was approved by President Walter Dilll Scott.

“I don’t believe any harm was meant,” the president said. “We feel the matter is highly unfortunate and will do nothing further.”

Miss Smith attended the Cape Girardeau Teachers College in the summer of 1923 and has a wide acquaintance here. She is the daughter of an influential banker at Cairo.

Miss Smith won the world’s championship for fancy diving at the Olympic Games at Paris in 1924. She was trained at Cairo by Chellis “Chubby” Chambers, former student and football player of the Cape State College.

While the Southeast Missourian didn't publish the offending photograph, the Ludington (Michigan) Daily News did on April 7, 1925:

By today’s standards, Smith’s costume wouldn’t raise an eyebrow.