Germany at the 1896 Summer Olympics

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.

Germany at the
1896 Summer Olympics
Flag of the German Empire
IOC codeGER
NOCGerman Olympic Sports Confederation
Websitewww.dosb.de (in German, English, and French)
in Athens, Greece
April 6, 1896 – April 15, 1896
Competitors19 in 6 sports and 24 events
Medals
Ranked 3rd
Gold
6
Silver
5
Bronze
2
Total
13
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

––––

 Saar (1952)
 United Team of Germany (1956–1964)
 East Germany (1968–1988)
 West Germany (1968–1988)

Medalists

edit

The following competitors won medals at the games. In the discipline sections below, the medalists' names are bolded. Medals awarded to participants of mixed-NOC teams are represented in italics. These medals are not counted towards the individual NOC medal tally.

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 Hilmar, Fritz Hofmann, Fritz Manteuffel,
Karl Neukirch, Richard Röstel, Gustav Schuft,
Carl Schuhmann, Hermann Weingärtner
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars April 9
  Gold Conrad Böcker, Alfred Flatow, Gustav Flatow,
Georg Hilmar, Fritz Hofmann, Fritz Manteuffel,
Karl Neukirch, Richard Röstel, Gustav Schuft,
Carl Schuhmann, Hermann Weingärtner
Gymnastics Men's team horizontal bar April 9
  Gold Carl Schuhmann Gymnastics Men's vault April 9
  Gold Friedrich Traun Tennis Men's doubles April 9
  Gold Carl Schuhmann 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
  Silver Hermann Weingärtner Gymnastics Men's rings April 9
  Bronze Fritz Hofmann Gymnastics Men's rope climbing April 10
  Bronze Hermann Weingärtner Gymnastics Men's vault April 9
Medals by sport
Sport       Total
Gymnastics 5 3 2 10
Wrestling 1 0 0 1
Athletics 0 1 0 1
Cycling 0 1 0 1
Total 6 5 2 13

Multiple medalists

edit

The following competitors won multiple medals at the 1896 Olympic Games.

Name Medal Sport Event
Carl Schuhmann   Gold
  Gold
  Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics
Wrestling
Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Men's vault
Men's Greco-Roman
Hermann Weingärtner   Gold
  Gold
  Gold
  Silver
  Silver
  Bronze
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Men's horizontal bar
Men's pommel horse
Men's rings
Men's vault
Alfred Flatow   Gold
  Gold
  Gold
  Silver
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Men's parallel bars
Men's horizontal bar
Fritz Hofmann   Gold
  Gold
  Silver
  Bronze
Gymnastics
Athletics
Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
100 m
Men's rope climbing
Conrad Böcker   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Gustav Flatow   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Georg Hillmar   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Fritz Manteuffel   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Karl Neukirch   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Richard Röstel   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar
Gustav Schuft   Gold
  Gold
Gymnastics Men's team parallel bars
Men's team horizontal bar

Competitors

edit

Athletics

edit

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. Alfred Flatow was entered in the 100 metres but did not start.[2][3][4]

Track & road events

Athlete Event Heat Final
Time Rank Time Rank
Kurt Doerry 100 m Unknown 4 Did not advance
Alfred Flatow DNS Did not advance
Fritz Hofmann 12.6 2 Q 12.2  
Friedrich Traun 13.5 3 Did not advance
Kurt Doerry 400 m Unknown 3-4 Did not advance
Fritz Hofmann 58.6 2 Q 56.7 4
Friedrich Traun DNS Did not advance
Kurt Doerry 800 m DNS Did not advance
Fritz Hofmann DNS Did not advance
Friedrich Traun 2:13.4 3 Did not advance
Carl Galle 1500 m 4:39.0 4
Kurt Doerry 110 m hurdles Unknown 3-4 Did not advance
Fritz Hofmann DNS Did not advance
Friedrich Traun DNS Did not advance
Carl Galle Marathon DNS

Field events

Athlete Event Final
Distance Position
Conrad Böcker High jump DNS
Kurt Doerry DNS
Alfred Flatow DNS
Gustav Flatow DNS
Carl Galle DNS
Fritz Hofmann 1.55 5
Fritz Manteuffel DNS
Gustav Schuft DNS
Carl Schuhmann DNS
Friedrich Traun DNS
Kurt Doerry Pole vault DNS
Alfred Flatow DNS
Gustav Flatow DNS
Carl Galle DNS
Fritz Hofmann DNS
Fritz Manteuffel DNS
Karl Neukirch DNS
Carl Schuhmann DNS
Friedrich Traun DNS
Hermann Weingärtner DNS
Kurt Doerry Long jump DNS
Alfred Flatow DNS
Carl Galle DNS
Fritz Hofmann DNS
Friedrich Traun DNS
Carl Schuhmann 5.70 8
Hermann Weingärtner DNS
Alfred Flatow Triple jump DNS
Fritz Hofmann Unknown 6-7
Carl Schuhmann Unknown 5
Friedrich Traun DNS
Conrad Böcker Shot put DNS
Alfred Flatow DNS
Fritz Hofmann 10.00 5-7
Carl Schuhmann Unknown 5-7
Hermann Weingärtner DNS
Carl Schuhmann Discus throw DNS


Cycling

edit

Track

edit
Athlete Event Time / Distance Rank
Theodor Leupold Men's time trial 27.0 5
Joseph Rosemeyer 27.2 8
Joseph Rosemeyer Men's sprint DNF
Joseph Rosemeyer 10 km Unknown 4
Bernard Knubel 100 km DNF
Theodor Leupold DNF
Joseph Rosemeyer DNF
Joseph Welzenbacher DNF
Joseph Welzenbacher Men's 12 hour race DNF

Road

edit
Athlete Event Time Rank
August von Gödrich Men's road race 3:42:18  
Bernard Knubel DNS
Theodor Leupold DNS
Fritz Manteuffel DNS
Joseph Rosemeyer DNS
Joseph Welzenbacher DNS

Gymnastics

edit

Germany dominated the gymnastics program, taking 5 of the 8 gold medals and medalling in each event.

 
German team at parallel bars
 
German team on horizontal bars
Team
Athlete Event Result Rank
Conrad Böcker
Alfred Flatow
Gustav Flatow
Georg Hilmar
Fritz Hofmann
Fritz Manteuffel
Karl Neukirch
Richard Röstel
Gustav Schuft
Carl Schuhmann
Hermann Weingärtner
Men's team parallel bars Unknown  
Conrad Böcker
Alfred Flatow
Gustav Flatow
Georg Hilmar
Fritz Hofmann
Fritz Manteuffel
Karl Neukirch
Richard Röstel
Gustav Schuft
Carl Schuhmann
Hermann Weingärtner
Men's team horizontal bar Unknown  
Individual
Athlete Event Result Rank
Conrad Böcker Men's vault Unknown 4-15
Alfred Flatow Unknown 4-15
Gustav Flatow Unknown 4-15
Georg Hilmar Unknown 4-15
Fritz Manteuffel Unknown 4-15
Karl Neukirch Unknown 4-15
Richard Röstel Unknown 4-15
Gustav Schuft Unknown 4-15
Carl Schuhmann Unknown  
Hermann Weingärtner Unknown  
Conrad Böcker Men's pommel horse Unknown 3-15
Alfred Flatow Unknown 3-15
Gustav Flatow Unknown 3-15
Georg Hilmar Unknown 3-15
Fritz Manteuffel Unknown 3-15
Karl Neukirch Unknown 3-15
Richard Röstel Unknown 3-15
Gustav Schuft Unknown 3-15
Carl Schuhmann Unknown 3-15
Hermann Weingärtner Unknown  
Conrad Böcker Men's rings Unknown 6-8
Alfred Flatow Unknown 6-8
Gustav Flatow Unknown 6-8
Carl Schuhmann Unknown 5
Hermann Weingärtner Unknown  
Conrad Böcker Men's horizontal bar Unknown 3-15
Alfred Flatow Unknown  
Gustav Flatow Unknown 3-15
Georg Hilmar Unknown 3-15
Fritz Manteuffel Unknown 3-15
Karl Neukirch Unknown 3-15
Richard Röstel Unknown 3-15
Gustav Schuft Unknown 3-15
Carl Schuhmann Unknown 3-15
Hermann Weingärtner Unknown  
Conrad Böcker Men's parallel bars Unknown 3-18
Alfred Flatow Unknown  
Gustav Flatow Unknown 3-18
Georg Hilmar Unknown 3-18
Fritz Manteuffel Unknown 3-18
Karl Neukirch Unknown 3-18
Richard Röstel Unknown 3-18
Gustav Schuft Unknown 3-18
Carl Schuhmann Unknown 3-18
Hermann Weingärtner Unknown 3-18
Fritz Hofmann Men's rope climbing 12.5  

Tennis

edit

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.

Athlete Event First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Rank
Friedrich Traun Singles   Boland (GBR)
L 0–6, 6–2, 2–6
Did not advance =8
  Friedrich Traun (GER)
  John Boland (GBR)
Doubles   Akratopoulos /
Akratopoulos (GRE) W
Bye   Kasdaglis /
Petrokokkinos (GRE)
W 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
 


Weightlifting

edit

Schuhmann's lift was equal to that of the bronze medallist, but lifting form was used as a tie-breaker in the event.

Athlete Event Weight Rank
Carl Schuhmann Two hand lift 90.0 4

Wrestling

edit

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.

Athlete Event Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Rank
Carl Schuhmann Men's Greco-Roman   Elliot (GBR)
W
Bye   Tsitas (GRE)
W
 

References

edit
  1. ^ Fritz Hofmann competed in athletics and gymnastics while Carl Schuhmann competed in athletics, gymnastics, weightlifting and wrestling, and Friedrich Traun competed in athletics and tennis
  2. ^ Butler, Maynard. The Olympic Games. In Mallon & Widlund, pp. 37–41.
  3. ^ Ekkehard zur Megede : The history of Olympic athletics. Volume 1: 1896-1936. Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970.
  4. ^ "100 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.