Carl August Berthold Schuhmann (12 May 1869 – 24 March 1946) was a German athlete who won four Olympic titles in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era. He also competed in

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

Biography

Schuhmann, who was a member of the Berliner Turnerschaft, was a member of the successful German gymnastics team that won the team events in the

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...

and

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...

events. Schuhmann added a third title by winning the horse vault event. He also competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar,

pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...

, and rings events without success. The only extant information about his placing in those events, besides not being a medallist, is that he placed fifth in the rings competition. Schuhmann then entered the wrestling competition, which he also won, even though he was much lighter and smaller than most of the other combatants. In the first round, he faced

Launceston Elliot Launceston Elliot (9 June 1874 – 8 August 1930) was a Scottish weightlifter, and the first British Olympic champion. Biography Launceston Elliot was conceived in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, after which he was named, but before his b ...

of Great Britain and Ireland, who had won the

competition. Schuhmann won easily. The semifinals resulted in a bye for the German. In the final, he faced

Georgios Tsitas Georgios Tsitas ( el, Γεώργιος Τσίτας, born 1872 in Smyrna, died between 1940 and 1945) was a Greece, Greek sport wrestling, wrestler. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. In the first round of the wrestling competiti ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. The match went for 40 minutes before it was determined that it was too dark to continue and the bout was postponed until a second day. The next morning, Schuhmann quickly finished the bout with a win for a gold medal. He also entered the

competition, placing fourth. Schuhmann was one of nine athletes to compete in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

. The only information known about his placing in the event is that he was not one of the top four. He also placed fifth in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

and in the bottom three of a seven-man field in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. Schuhmann tied for fourth place in the two-handed weightlifting competition now known as the

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...

. He and

Georgios Papasideris Georgios Saranti Papasideris ( el, Γεώργιος/Γιώργος Παπασιδέρης, 1875 in Koropi – 1920) was a Greek athlete and weightlifter. Career Papasideris was born in Koropi. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics i ...

both lifted 90.0 kilograms. In 1936, he was part of a gymnastics exhibition at the Olympic Stadium. His tombstone at

Friedhof Heerstraße The Friedhof Heerstraße cemetery is located at Trakehnerallee 1 (''Trakehner avenue No.1''), district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin, Germany, to the east of the Olympic Stadium (Berlin), Olympiastadion. It covers an area of 149 ...

is inscribed with the five Olympic Rings, the epitaph "Germany’s first Olympic champion", and the legend "Athens 1896".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuhmann, Carl 1869 births 1946 deaths Sportspeople from Münster Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century sportsmen Gymnasts at the 1896 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1896 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1896 Summer Olympics German male sport wrestlers Olympic athletes of Germany Olympic gymnasts of Germany Olympic weightlifters of Germany Olympic wrestlers of Germany German male triple jumpers German male long jumpers German male shot putters German male artistic gymnasts German male weightlifters Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in gymnastics Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics People associated with physical culture

Biography

See also

References

External links