Fritz Assmy (11 June 1915 – 11 June 2000) was a blind

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German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

masters athletics Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair comp ...

sprinter. He has set numerous masters world records in sprint events from 100 to 400 meters. Born in

Hankou Hankou, alternately romanized as Hankow (), was one of the three towns (the other two were Wuchang and Hanyang) merged to become modern-day Wuhan city, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers wher ...

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to Paul Assmy and Shun King Liu, he migrated to Germany at the age of nine. Assmy had run the

100 Meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

in 11.1 at age 18 (1933). By comparison, the 100 Meters

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

winning time was 10.3 in both

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

(by

Eddie Tolan Thomas Edward "Eddie" Tolan (September 29, 1908 – January 30/31, 1967), nicknamed the "Midnight Express", was an American track and field athlete who competed in sprints. He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympi ...

) and 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 ...

(by

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

Blindness

In his youth, Assmy planned to be a civilian pilot and joined the German Air Force before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a start for an aviation career. In those pre-war years he had also participated in other sports, including soccer, handball, swimming. In 1938, he crashed on a training flight in a

Henschel Hs 123 The Henschel Hs 123 was a single-seat biplane dive bomber and close-support attack aircraft flown by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Spanish Civil War and the early to midpoint of World War II. It proved to be robust, durable and effective e ...

fighter plane at

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

, and lost his vision in both eyes at the age of 23. Around 1971, Assmy realized that blindness need not keep him out of active sport and resumed training, first in gymnastics, then in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. During competition he was guided by a sighted runner with a short rope tethered to their wrists, running in the outer lane to avoid getting in the way of other competitors. His most notable achievements in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

were at the World Masters Athletics Outdoor Championships, from 1977 to 1991. In his first 3 WMA Championships (

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

), he was guided by his son-in-law Klaus Hinrichsen. Then, after his daughter and son-in-law split up, he switched to his son as the guide for

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, and then to his grandson in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. Some claimed his guide had "pulled" or "tugged" Assmy in some events, giving him an unfair advantage. In a response to such criticisms, Assmy defended his running technique in a letter published in the June 1985 National Masters News newsletter.

Masters World Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assmy, Fritz 1915 births 2000 deaths Competitors in athletics with a visual impairment German male sprinters German masters athletes World record holders in masters athletics World Masters Athletics Championships Masters athletics (track and field) records