Joaquín Blume (; 21 June 1933 – 29 April 1959) was a Spanish

gymnast 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, sh ...

. The son of a German gymnastics instructor established in Barcelona,50 años sin Joaquim Blume
/ref> he belonged to the gymnastics section of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

.50 años de la muerte de Joaquín Blume
/ref> He became Spanish gymnastics champion at 15 and he competed in 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 ...

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 ...

with only 19 years. He went to win eight medals in the

1955 Mediterranean Games The 1955 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the II Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Barcelona 1955, were the 2nd Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Barcelona, Spain over 10 days, from 15 to 25 July 1955, where 1,135 athl ...

and in 1957 he won the European Championship, defeating favourite

Yuri Titov Yuri Yevlampiyevich Titov (russian: Юрий Евлампиевич Титов; born 27 November 1935) is a former Russian gymnast, Olympic champion and four times world champion, who competed for the Soviet Union. He won a total of nine Olympic ...

. He was a favourite for the 1956 Summer Olympics of

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 ...

, until

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

boycotted the games in protest against the presence of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, after their brutal suppression of the Hungarian Revolution. He was also a favourite in 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 ...

, but he died in a plane crash at the Valdemeca mountains, in Cuenca, on 29 April 1959. The plane was headed for Canarias, where the Spanish gymnastics team were to do a gymnastics exhibition. His wife, also a gymnast and pregnant with their second child, was also a passenger. There were no survivors.La Vanguardia - Edición del viernes, 27 abril 1984, página 44
/ref> In his honour, the Catalan Gymnastics Federation started in 1969 the Memorial Joaquim Blume tournament, first only of male gymnastics with female competition introduced in 1972. A sculpture in his honour is displayed at the Gardens of Joan Brossa, in Barcelona.

References

1933 births 1959 deaths Spanish male artistic gymnasts Spanish people of German descent Gymnasts from Catalonia Gymnasts at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of Spain Burials at Montjuïc Cemetery Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1959 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Spain Competitors at the 1955 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in gymnastics Mediterranean Games competitors for Spain European champions in gymnastics 20th-century Spanish people {{Spain-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub