Germany at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Template:Infobox Olympics Germany
Germany competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The Germans were the third most successful nation in terms of both gold medals (6 plus 1 as part of a mixed team) and total medals (13). Gymnastics was the sport in which Germany excelled. The German team had 19 athletes. The Germans had 75 entries in 26 events (of which 48 entries were in the 8 gymnastics events), taking 13 medals.
Medalists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gold
|
Hermann Weingärtner | Gymnastics | Men's horizontal bar | April 9 |
| Gold
|
Alfred Flatow | Gymnastics | Men's parallel bars | April 10 |
| Gold
|
Conrad Böcker, Alfred Flatow, Gustav Flatow, Georg Hillmar, Fritz Hofmann, Fritz Manteuffel, Karl Neukirch, Richard Röstel, Gustav Schuft, Carl Schuhmann, Hermann Weingärtner |
Gymnastics | Men's team parallel bars | April 9 |
| Men's team horizontal bar | April 9 | |||
| Gold
|
Carl Schuhmann | Gymnastics | Men's vault | April 9 |
| Wrestling | Men's Greco-Roman | April 11 | ||
 Silver
|
Fritz Hofmann | Athletics | Men's 100 m | April 10 |
| Silver
|
August von Gödrich | Cycling | Men's road race | April 12 |
| Silver
|
Alfred Flatow | Gymnastics | Men's horizontal bar | April 9 |
| Silver
|
Hermann Weingärtner | Gymnastics | Men's pommel horse | April 9 |
| Men's rings | April 9 | |||
 Bronze
|
Fritz Hofmann | Gymnastics | Men's rope climbing | April 10 |
| Bronze
|
Hermann Weingärtner | Gymnastics | Men's vault | April 9 |
Results by event
Athletics
Hofmann's silver medal in the 100 metres was the only medal earned by the German athletes, though they finished 4th or 5th an additional 4 times.
| Event | Place | Athlete | Heat | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres | 2nd | Fritz Hofmann | Unknown | 12.2 seconds |
| – | Friedrich Traun | Unknown | Did not advance | |
| Kurt Dörry | Unknown | |||
| 400 metres | 4th | Fritz Hofmann | 58.6 seconds | Unknown |
| – | Kurt Dörry | Unknown | Did not advance | |
| 800 metres | – | Friedrich Traun | Unknown | Did not advance |
| 1500 metres | 4th | Karl Galle | No heats | 4:39.0 |
| 110 metre hurdles | – | Kurt Dörry | Unknown | Did not advance |
| Event | Place | Athlete | Best mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long jump | – | Carl Schuhmann | Unknown |
| Triple jump | 5th | Carl Schuhmann | Unknown |
| – | Fritz Hofmann | Unknown | |
| High jump | 5th | Fritz Hofmann | 1.55 metres |
| Shot put | – | Fritz Hofmann | Unknown |
| Carl Schuhmann | Unknown | ||
Cycling
Germany's only cycling medal came in the long-distance road race.
| Event | Place | Cyclist | Time/Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 333 metres | 5th | Theodor Leupold | 27.0 seconds |
| 8th | Joseph Rosemeyer | 27.2 seconds | |
| 2 kilometres | – | Joseph Rosemeyer | Did not finish |
| 10 kilometres | 4th | Joseph Rosemeyer | Unknown |
| 100 kilometres | – | Bernhard Knubel | Did not finish |
| Theodor Leupold | Did not finish | ||
| Joseph Rosemeyer | Did not finish | ||
| Joseph Welzenbacher | Did not finish | ||
| 12 hour race | – | Joseph Welzenbacher | Did not finish |
| Road race | 2nd | August von Gödrich | 3:42:18 |
Gymnastics
Germany dominated the gymnastics program, taking 5 of the 8 gold medals and medalling in each event.
| Event | Place | Gymnast |
|---|---|---|
| Parallel bars | 1st | Alfred Flatow |
| – | Konrad Böcker | |
| Gustav Flatow | ||
| Georg Hillmar | ||
| Fritz Manteuffel | ||
| Karl Neukirch | ||
| Richard Röstel | ||
| Gustav Schuft | ||
| Carl Schuhmann | ||
| Hermann Weingärtner | ||
| Horizontal bar | 1st | Hermann Weingärtner |
| 2nd | Alfred Flatow | |
| – | Konrad Böcker | |
| Gustav Flatow | ||
| Georg Hillmar | ||
| Fritz Manteuffel | ||
| Karl Neukirch | ||
| Richard Röstel | ||
| Gustav Schuft | ||
| Carl Schuhmann | ||
| Vault | 1st | Carl Schuhmann |
| 3rd | Hermann Weingärtner | |
| – | Konrad Böcker | |
| Alfred Flatow | ||
| Gustav Flatow | ||
| Georg Hillmar | ||
| Fritz Manteuffel | ||
| Karl Neukirch | ||
| Richard Röstel | ||
| Gustav Schuft | ||
| Pommel horse | 2nd | Hermann Weingärtner |
| – | Konrad Böcker | |
| Alfred Flatow | ||
| Gustav Flatow | ||
| Georg Hillmar | ||
| Fritz Manteuffel | ||
| Karl Neukirch | ||
| Richard Röstel | ||
| Gustav Schuft | ||
| Carl Schuhmann | ||
| Rings | 2nd | Hermann Weingärtner |
| 5th | Carl Schuhmann | |
| – | Konrad Böcker | |
| Alfred Flatow | ||
| Gustav Flatow | ||
| Event | Place | Gymnast | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rope climbing | 3rd | Fritz Hofmann | 12.5 metres |
| Event | Place | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Team parallel bars |
1st | Germany |
| Team horizontal bar |
1st | Germany |
Tennis
Traun was defeated by Boland in the first round of the singles tournament. The two entered the doubles tournament as a pair, winning the gold medal in that competition as part of a mixed team; that medal is not counted for Germany.
| Event | Place | Player(s) | Round 1 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | 8th | Friedrich Traun | Lost | Did not advance | ||
| Doubles | 1st | Friedrich Traun and  John Pius Boland (GBR) |
– | Won | Bye | Won |
| Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
 Greece |
2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Great Britain |
0 | 1 | 0.000 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
Weightlifting
Schuhmann's lift was equal to that of the bronze medallist, but lifting form was used as a tie-breaker in the event.
| Event | Place | Weightlifter | Best lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two handed | 4th | Carl Schuhmann | 90.0 kilograms |
Wrestling
Schuhmann first faced Launceston Elliot, the one-handed lift weightlifting champion, defeating him fairly easily. He received a bye in the semifinals, to face Georgios Tsitas in the final match. That contest took two days, after it had been postponed on account of darkness 40 minutes into the first day. Schuhmann quickly won on the second morning.
| Event | Place | Wrestler | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greco-Roman | 1st | Carl Schuhmann | Won | Bye | Won |
| Opponent nation | Wins | Losses | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Greece | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
References
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Digitally available at [1]) - Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Excerpt available at [2]) - Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.
