Alfred Guth (27 July 1908 – 13 November 1996) was an Austrian-born American water polo player, swimmer, and

modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

. At the

1932 Maccabiah Games The 1st Maccabiah (aka The Maccabiah and the White Horse Olympics) ( he, המכביה הראשונה or he, המכביאדה) was the first edition of the Maccabiah, which was held in Mandatory Palestine from March 28 to April 2, 1932. The games ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

, in swimming he won a gold medal and two silver medals. He competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon. After emigrating to the United States, he competed in

Masters swimming Masters swimming is a special class of competitive swimming (sport), swimming for swimmers 25 years and older. Premasters is normally included as well, from 18 years old (Canada, United States and Australia) or 20 years old (Europe). In Canada ...

and established 41 U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records.

Biography

Austria

In 1924 and 1925, swimming for the Jewish sports club

Hakoah Vienna SC Hakoah Vienna (german: Sport Club Hakoah Wien; ' means "the strength" in Hebrew) is a Jewish sports club in Vienna, Austria. Prior to World War II, it produced several Olympic athletes and was notable for fielding an entirely Jewish associati ...

, Guth won the ''Quer Durch Wien'' (“Across Vienna”) 7.5 km race in the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Guth competed for Austria at the 1927 Men's Water Polo European Championship in

Bologna, Italy Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, in which the team came in 6th. Guth competed in swimming at the

. 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. He competed at the

, coming in 33rd in

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

. Guth placed highest in swimming, where he came in 5th, ahead of all three medalists.

United States

Guth was a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

, and emigrated to the United States. In the US, Guth lived in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, and competed in

. He established 28 individual and 13 relay U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records between 1972 and 1987. 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).

References

External links

* 1908 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Austrian Jews 20th-century American Jews American male modern pentathletes American male swimmers American male water polo players Austrian male modern pentathletes Austrian male swimmers Austrian water polo players Competitors at the 1932 Maccabiah Games Holocaust survivors Jewish American sportspeople Jewish Austrian sportspeople Jewish emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss Jewish water polo players Jewish swimmers Jewish sportspeople Jews and Judaism in Vienna Olympic modern pentathletes of Austria Modern pentathletes at the 1936 Summer Olympics Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Austria Maccabiah Games silver medalists for Austria Maccabiah Games medalists in swimming Masters swimmers People from San Pedro, Los Angeles SC Hakoah Wien Sportspeople from Vienna Swimmers from Los Angeles Swimmers from Vienna {{Austria-modern-pentathlon-bio-stub