Ferdinand Schmitz (October 14, 1919 – November 6, 1981) was a German

wrestler 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 spor ...

who 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 Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

he participated in both the freestyle and Greco-Roman

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

competitions, eventually withdrawing from the former and finishing sixth in the latter. He had two podium results at the European Championships, placing third in 56 kg Greco-Roman event in 1938 and second in the 61-kg Greco-Roman event in 1939. He was born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and was a member of ESV Olympia Köln. His brother Heini Nettesheim was also an Olympic wrestler who competed in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, as well as 1952.

References

1919 births 1981 deaths Wrestlers at the 1952 Summer Olympics German male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of Germany Sportspeople from Cologne 20th-century German people {{Germany-wrestling-bio-stub