Gottfried "Göpf" Kottmann (15 October 1932 – 6 November 1964) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

and

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who competed from the mid-1950s until his death by drowning shortly after his second Olympic appearance in 1964.

Rowing

Kottmann, born 1932 in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, started rowing aged 13 with Belvoir Ruderclub in his home city. For several years, he rowed with Rolf Streuli and various coxswains in the coxed pair event. They won the

European Rowing Championships The European Rowing Championships is an international Rowing regatta organised by FISA (the International Rowing Federation) for European rowing nations, plus Israel which, though not a member of the European federation is treated as a European ...

in 1954 in Amsterdam, in 1955 in Ghent, and came second in 1956 in Bled. They had qualified for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

but Switzerland was one of four countries to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the Games over the

Soviet invasion of Hungary The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. At the

1958 European Rowing Championships The 1958 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on Lake Malta in the city of Poznań in Poland. Men competed in all seven Olympic boat classes (M1x, M2x, M2-, M2+, M4-, M4+, M8+), and women entered in five boat classes (W1x, ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

, Kottmann and Streuli won bronze. At the

1959 European Rowing Championships The 1959 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Mâcon regatta course on the Saône in Mâcon, France. The event for women was held from 14 to 16 August, and 16 races were held. The event for men was held from 20 to 23 ...

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

, Kottmann won a gold medal in the coxless four event. Two of the four rowers remained part of the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

that went to the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where they came sixth. At the

1964 European Rowing Championships The 1964 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Bosbaan regatta course in the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Women competed from 31 July to 2 August. Men competed the following week from 6 to 9 August. Men competed in all s ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, he competed in single sculls and came in sixth place. Two months later competing at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, he won a bronze medal in the

single sculls A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

event.

Bobsledding

Kottmann won a bronze medal in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 1960 FIBT World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.Bobsleigh four-man world championship medalists since 1930
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Death

He drowned in the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Rüdlingen Rüdlingen is a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. History Rüdlingen is first mentioned in 827 as ''Ruodiningun''. Geography Rüdlingen has an area, , of . Of this area, 47.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while ...

while taking part in a military exercise as a diver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kottmann, Gottfried 1932 births 1964 deaths Deaths by drowning Swiss male bobsledders Swiss male rowers Olympic bronze medalists for Switzerland Olympic rowers for Switzerland Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Accidental deaths in Switzerland Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists Sportspeople from Zürich 20th-century Swiss people