Clara Marie Schroth-Lomady (October 5, 1920 – June 7, 2014) was an American artistic gymnast who won a team bronze medal at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. She also competed at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in Helsinki. Although individual medals had been awarded to male gymnasts since the inception of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, women would not be awarded with individual medals until 1952; however, under the rules that began in 1952, Schroth's performance in 1948 would have garnered her an individual medal of second-place silver on vault (referred to in the Official Olympic Report as the "Pommeled Horse"), tied with

Joan Airey Joan Winifred Airey-Weedon (4 April 1926 – 16 October 1994) was a British artistic gymnast. She competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. She represented Regent Street Gymnastics Club and was coached by Lucy Desmond and George Weedon George W ...

of the United Kingdom, as Schroth had the 2nd-highest score on the apparatus of 80+ athletes in the competition. At the national level she won 39 Amateur Athletic Union titles, including eleven straight victories on the balance beam, one in track and field (standing broad jump in 1945), and several that were attained after she had her first child. She is the first person to win six national all-around titles from 1945-6 and 1949-52, a record that stood for nearly 70 years until it was beaten by Simone Biles. Along with other USA woman gymnasts Meta Elste-Neumann, Helen Schifano-Sjursen, and

Erna Wachtel Erna Wachtel (April 3, 1907 – June 1, 1995) was an American artistic gymnast, coach and judge. Early life Born in Germany, she immigrated to the United States at the age of 19. Athletic career Wachtel won multiple AAU titles, and in 1944 ...

, Schroth-Lomady was inducted into the

USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1974, the first year that the Hall of Fame, which inducted its inaugural class in 1959 and had inducted 65 individuals by 1974, included women amongst its inductees. While competing Schroth worked as a secretary for the

Abington School District Abington School District is a medium-sized, suburban, public school district that serves the borough of Rockledge and Abington Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The district operates one high school, one middle school, and seven ele ...

. In 1951 she married Wendell "Fuzz" Lomady and became a housewife, yet she remained active with the U.S. Gymnastics Federation. She died on June 7, 2014, in her home in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schroth, Clara 1920 births 2014 deaths American female artistic gymnasts Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 1948 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics