The Aquatots was the name given to two American children, Russell "Bubba" Tongay and his sister Kathy Tongay, due to their ability to perform daring swimming feats at a very young age. Bubba was 7 years old and Kathy was 5 when Kathy was killed by their father in 1953.
Early career
Russell G. Tongay, the children's father, began training Kathy and Bubba when they were very young. Time magazine reported in 1953 that by the age of ten months Kathy could swim 20 feet deep. By the time the children were 17 months old, according to Time, they were swimming a quarter of a mile per day. In 1950, Tongay staged a swimming performance by his children in the Mississippi River, 22 miles away from St. Louis. Tongay followed in a boat while his children swam along the river. Kathy, aged 2, swam 5 miles and Bubba, aged 4, swam the entire 22 miles to St. Louis. The performance was recorded by gathered reporters and served as a national introduction for the two children. Tongay then announced that his children would swim across the English Channel. Following the Mississippi River swim, Tongay began to actively promote the children as an entertainment act. Bubba would leap from a 30-foot diving platform and swim underwater with his hands and feet bound. The family later moved to Miami, where the children continued to perform. They were promoted by their father, who bragged of their diet, which consisted entirely of baby food.
Europe
The Tongays arrived in Europe in June 1951, but their act was regarded there more as abuse than as entertainment. Both the British and the French governments forbade the Tongays to force their children to swim the English Channel. Upon their arrival in London, the entire family was placed under "technical arrest." Tongay argued with the British Home Office to permit the swim across the Channel. Letters to the editor and a general sense that the swim was exploitative caused Home SecretaryJames Chuter Ede to say: "I cannot help thinking that swimming the Channel at that early age is rather a severe test even for an infant prodigy." Initially the Home Office intended to expel the Tongays from the country, but the next day an officer declared they could stay for one month provided that the children did not swim for profit. Although the Daily Mail had offered the children a $20,000 prize for the stunt, and they had received much publicity, the Tongays eventually gave up and returned to the United States. The publicity surrounding the Aquatots continued to increase after their return from Europe. The children were featured in newsreels and made a cameo appearance in the 1952 musical filmSkirts Ahoy!, starring Esther Williams.
Death and the end of the Aquatots
Both Kathy and Bubba were accomplished platform divers. In May 1953, Kathy Tongay attempted to complete a one-and-a-half layout dive from a height of 33 feet at Miami's Macfadden-Deauville Pool. Her attempt failed and she ended up bellyflopping. Afterward, she complained of back pain. Tongay then took her to the Treasure Isle Pool, a pool at which the children trained five days a week. A lifeguard at the pool later reported that Kathy was badly bruised and ill. Her father fed her some baby soup and told her to get into the water. The same lifeguard later stated that Kathy was crying and did not swim for long. By noon, the Tongays had returned home, where Kathy went into convulsions and died before 6 p.m. Homicide detectives stated that Kathy apparently had been beaten and had died from a ruptured intestine, internal bleeding, and an infection. Tongay was charged with second degree murder. He was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years at hard labor.
