Rudolf Watzl (14 April 1882 – 15 August 1915) was an Austrian Greco-Roman wrestler who competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece and won a gold and a bronze medal.[1]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 April 1882 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 15 August 1915 (aged 33) Przemyśl, Austria-Hungary |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Austria |
| Sport | Wrestling |
Medal record | |
Watzl was actually 24 years old when he started wrestling in 1904 at the First Vienna Sports Club,[2] and just two years later he was representing his country at the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens. Watzl went on to compete in two events, the first was the Greco-Roman Lightweight class, and in the first round he beat the Greek wrestler Dimitrios Kolyvas,[3] in the semi-finals he went on to beat Renè Dobrinovitz from Belgium.[4] The final was a three way round robin event, first Watzl beat Ferenc Holubán from Hungary, then in a forty-minute contest he overcame the Danish wrestler Carl Carlsen to win the gold medal.[5] Watzl also competed in the All-Round contest an event which all three weight winners contested, Watzl lost in the first round to Søren Marinus Jensen from Denmark, so won the bronze medal.[6]
During World War One, Watzl joined the Austro-Hungarian Army, but during one of the counter offensives of the fortress of Przemyśl, in Poland, he was taken ill and on 15 August 1915 he died from typhoid.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Rudolf Watzl". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ a b McCrery, Nigel (2016). The Extinguished Flame: Olympians Killed in The Great War. Pen and Sword. p. 84. ISBN 9781473878013. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's Lightweight, Greco-Roman Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's Lightweight, Greco-Roman Semi-Finals". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's Lightweight, Greco-Roman". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1906 Athina Summer Games: Men's All-Around, Greco-Roman Round One". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2017.