Gottlob Walz (29 June 1881 – 1943) was a German diver who competed in the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...

and

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. Walz was born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, Germany in 1881 and from 1903 became an accomplished diver who won the German National Diving Champion 11 times and the European Champion three times, so when he entered the Olympics he was the favorite each time. At the

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 ...

, he competed with another 23 divers in the

platform diving A diving platform or diving tower is a type of structure used for competitive diving. It consists of a vertical rigid "tower" with one or more horizontal platforms extending out over a deep pool of water. In platform diving, the diver jumps from ...

event, in which the divers had three dives each from four, eight and twelve metre platforms, and after two days Walz won with 156.0 points and ahead of fellow German

Georg Hoffmann Georg Hoffmann (1880–1947) was a German freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke swimmer and diver who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics and 1906 Intercalated Games. Hoffmann competed in three events at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, i ...

by 5.8 points. Two years later Walz was back at the Olympics competing this time in the 3 metre spring event, at the

in London, in the first round the divers were split into group with the first two in each group qualifying for the next round, Walz won his group with 81.30 points, in the semi-finals there were two groups with again the top two qualifying for the final, Walz this time finished second in his group behind fellow German

Kurt Behrens Kurt Behrens (November 26, 1884 – February 5, 1928) was a 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 ...

, in a final with four divers Walz only managed to finish in joint third place with American

George Gaidzik George William Gaidzik (February 22, 1885 – August 25, 1938) was an American diver, who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics. He was born in Chicago and died in a boat capsizing incident on Lake Michigan. Olympic ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walz, Gottlob 1881 births 1943 deaths German male divers Olympic divers of Germany Divers at the 1906 Intercalated Games Divers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in diving Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games Sportspeople from Stuttgart 20th-century German people

See also

References