Alfred Nakache

Artem "Alfred" Nakache (18 November 1915 – 4 August 1983) was a French swimmer and water polo player. A member of the French team for the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic Games, he also swam in the first post-war Summer Olympics in London in 1948. He, Agnes Keleti and Ben Helfgott are the only known Jewish athletes to have competed in the Olympics after surviving the Holocaust.

Biography

Nakache was the youngest of eleven children in a Jewish family, who had migrated to Algeria from Iraq in the 19th century. Though he initially had a fear of water, he managed to overcome it. In 1931, he won the Constantine Christmas Cup.

After his first local swimming competitions, in which he was not even aware he had to follow the lane lines, Nakache progressed rapidly. In 1933, he participated in his first French championships, and moved to Paris at the end of the summer..

At the 1934 French Championships, Nakache finished second in the 100-meter freestyle behind Jean Taris and was selected for the French team for a junior meet against the Netherlands. As a Frenchman born outside of France and not yet registered with a club in France, he was barred from participation in the European Championships. Nevertheless, Nakache participated in the Tour de France Nautique team.

Nakache was licensed at the Racing Club de France from 1934 to 1936, and enrolled in 1934 at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly. He participated in preparatory meets for the 1936 Summer Olympics, and that same year, broke the European record in the 4 x 200m relay in 9 minutes 22 seconds with Jean Taris, René Cavalero, and Diener. As a Jewish athlete in the Nazi-run Berlin Olympics, he finished fourth place in the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay with Taris, Cavalero, and Christian Talli, placing them ahead of Nazi Germany.

On 6 October 1937, he married his wife Paule Elbaze, who was also an Algerian Jew.