HAJOS, ALFRED

born Feb. 1, 1878, Budapest, Hungary died Nov. 12, 1955 original name Arnold Guttmann Hungarian swimmer who won three Olympic medals and was the first Olympic swimming champion. Hajs began swimming at age 13 after his father drowned in the Danube River. In 1895 he won the 100-metre freestyle title at the European championships in Vienna. At the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, the swimming contests were held outdoors, in the cold Bay of Zea at Phaleron. Hajs won gold medals in two of the four swimming events, one in the 100-metre freestyle and one in the 1,200-metre freestyle. At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, Hajs, an accomplished architect, won a silver medal for sports architecture. An avid athlete, he twice was a member of the Hungarian national football team.