Summer is here and its time for many around the country to hit the pool. As you are cooling off on a hot day, take a look around at all the pool equipment and swim accessories. The majority of these items were invented by one man.
Adolph Kiefer personally developed and designed dozens of lifesaving and swim accessories in his lifetime. His career in swimming began at an early age when he became the first to swim the 100-yard backstroke in less than a minute. At 18 years old he won the gold metal for the United States in that same event.
During the second World War he taught sailors how to survive shipwreck by using the “victory backstroke”. During this training he made boards out of a combination of fiberglass and plastic that was later named a kick board. A name that is still used today.
A few years later he started Kiefer Associates where he sold the first commercial kkckboards made from PVC. They also produced the lifesaving belts that you see today on every lifegaurd. Kiefer created the firs t soft goggles that were created from thermoplastic elastomer. He revolutionized how lane lines are produced.
Before Kiefer passed away this May, he was the oldest living Olympian. He made his mark as a great American athlete in the pool and revolutionized the sport with his innovations in the plastic industry. Adolf Kiefer forever changed the way we safely enjoy our time in the water.
