Hermann Weingärtner

Hermann Weingärtner
Personal information
Country represented Germany
Born(1864-08-27)27 August 1864
Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia
Died22 December 1919(1919-12-22) (aged 55)
Frankfurt (Oder), Germany
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Medal record
Men's Artistic Gymnastics
Gold medal – first place 1896 Athens Team parallel bars
Gold medal – first place 1896 Athens Team horizontal bar
Gold medal – first place 1896 Athens Horizontal bar
Silver medal – second place 1896 Athens Pommel horse
Silver medal – second place 1896 Athens Rings
Bronze medal – third place 1896 Athens Vault

Hermann Otto Ludwig Weingärtner (27 August 1864 – 22 December 1919) was a German gymnast.[1]

He started his career in his hometown Frankfurt (Oder) at the local gymnastics club Frankfurter Turnverein 1860. Later on he moved to Berlin to compete for the Deutsche Turnerschaft.

He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Weingärtner was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar.[2]

He also won a number of individual medals, taking the gold in the horizontal bar, silver in pommel horse and rings, and bronze in the vault. He competed in the parallel bars, but did not win a medal in that event. His six medals arguably made him the most successful competitor at the first modern Olympic Games.

After his return to Germany he and most of the other German gymnasts were suspended because the Deutsche Turnerschaft (at this time the governing body of German gymnastics) boycotted the Olympic games with the reason that competing is "un-German".[further explanation needed] So he moved back to Frankfurt (Oder) to manage the open-air swimming pool founded by his father on the Ziegenwerder island.

He drowned trying to rescue a person from drowning in the Oder.[1]

In 1996, the main footpath on the Ziegenwerder island was named Hermann-Weingärtner-Weg.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Hermann Weingärtner Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Hermann Weingärtner". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 December 2020.