Photo of Charlotte Epstein from the 1932 Olympic Games courtesy of U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Archives

During her 22 years with the New York Women’s Swimming Association, Charlotte “Eppy” Epstein’s swimmers set 51 world records and registered 31 U.S. Champion relay teams.

But few people outside of the sport have ever heard of her or know of her accomplishments. 

Known as the mother of American women’s swimming, Epstein established women’s swimming as a recognized sport in the United States, which offered competitive swimming, lessons, and socialization for female swimmers. She was responsible for women’s swimming at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

In 1914, Epstein founded the National Women’s Life Saving League, later changed to New York Women’s Swimming Association (WSA). She was the organizer and manager and provided the continuity and tenacity that made it go and kept it going. 

Within months of the WSA’s establishment, Eppy persuaded the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to permit women swimmers, for the first time to register as athletes with the AAU.

A court stenographer by trade, Epstein coached U.S. women swimmers at the 1920, 1924 and 1932 Olympiads. During this time, American female swimmers dominated the Games. Among the swimmers considered Epstein’s protégés were champions Gertrude Ederle, Aleen Riggin and Eleanor Holm. In 1926, Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel, beating the men’s time by over two hours.

Four years later, she was invited to coach the 1936 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swim Team, but declined and resigned from the U.S. Olympic Committee in protest against Nazi Germany’s policies.

Epstein was a staunch fighter for women’s rights, staging “suffrage swim races” with her teammates, as well as battling for emancipation in women’s sports campaigning for bathing suit reform, distance swims and other competitive events. 

She died in 1938, leaving a legacy on the sport both through her in-pool successes and out-of-pool organizational footprints. Epstein's career was celebrated after her passing, as she would become a 1974 International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree.