Alfred Guth (27 July 1908 – 13 November 1996) was an Austrian water polo player, swimmer, and modern pentathlete. At the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, in swimming he won a gold medal and two silver medals. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon. A Holocaust survivor, he emigrated to the United States after WWII, competed in Masters swimming, and established 41 U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records.

Alfred Guth
Alfred Guth in 1934
Personal information
Born(1908-07-27)27 July 1908
Vienna, Austria[1]
Died13 November 1996(1996-11-13) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Sport
SportModern pentathlon, swimming
ClubHakoah, Vienna
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Austria
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place 1932 Mandatory Palestine 1,500m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1932 Mandatory Palestine 400m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1932 Mandatory Palestine 4x200m freestyle

Biography edit

Austria edit

In 1924 and 1925, swimming for the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna, Guth won the Quer Durch Wien (“Across Vienna”) 7.5 km race in the Danube.[2][3]

Guth competed for Austria at the 1927 Men's Water Polo European Championship in Bologna, Italy, in which the team came in 6th.[4]

Guth competed in swimming at the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine.[5] He won a gold medal in the 1,500m freestyle, a silver medal in the 400m freestyle, and a silver medal as part of Team Austria in the 4x200m freestyle.[5]

He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon.[6][7] Guth placed highest in swimming, where he came in 5th, ahead of all three medalists.[8]

United States edit

Guth was a Holocaust survivor, and emigrated to the United States.[9]

In the US, Guth lived in San Pedro, California, and competed in Masters swimming.[10][11] He established 28 individual and 13 relay U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records between 1972 and 1987.[12] He was a Masters All American in 1974 and 1977 (65-69), 1978-79 and 1981-83 (70-74), 1983-87 (75-79), and 1988-89 (80-84).[11]

References edit

  1. ^ "Great Olympians - biographies - GUT". www.hermandw.be.
  2. ^ "A Film of Inspiration and Passion". kipdf.com.
  3. ^ ""DANUBE FOOTBALL" – VIENNA'S IDENTIFICATION WITH FOOTBALL – AND THE "DANUBE MAIDENS" – VIENNA'S FEMALE SWIMMING CHAMPIONS (until 1938) – Central European Economic and Social History".
  4. ^ "Men Water Polo European Championship 1927 Bologna (ITA) - 31.08-05.09 Winner Hungary". www.todor66.com.
  5. ^ a b "Maccabiah Games before World War II". sport-record.de.
  6. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alfred Guth". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Alfred Guth," Olympics.com.
  8. ^ "1936 Summer Olympics-the results modern pentathlon," sport-olympic.gr.
  9. ^ "Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database -- Alfred Guth". ushmm.org.
  10. ^ "Notebook: Mariners Seek Cagers for Orient Games". The Los Angeles Times. 7 May 1987.
  11. ^ a b "All-American Listings for Alfred Guth". www.usms.org.
  12. ^ "USMS National Records". usms.org.

External links edit