Jānis Dimza (1 November 1906, Ipiķi parish – 1942) was a

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

. He placed fourth at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

in 1934, and challenged for medals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in 1932 until he injured himself in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

Career

Dimza placed second in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

at the

1930 International University Games The 1930 International University Games were organised by the Confederation Internationale des Etudiants (CIE) and held in Darmstadt, Germany. Held from 1–10 August, thirty nations competed in a programme of eight sports. Women competed only in ...

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

. The pentathlon had been discontinued as an Olympic event after 1924, so at the 1932 Olympic Games in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

he only competed in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

. He had scored 7789 points in that event in 1931, and was one of many favorites in what was expected to be a close competition. He was a close fourth after seven events; in the eighth event,

, he cleared 3.50 m to move up to second place, but landed badly and injured his leg. He was unable to continue. Dimza returned to competition once his leg healed, placing 4th at the 1934 European Championships in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. At the 1936 Olympics he again failed to finish, retiring from the

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

after the fourth event. In total, he was Latvian champion 36 times in a variety of events. In 1932 he was awarded the

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

5th Class. He died in a Soviet prison camp during

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimza, Janis 1906 births 1942 deaths People from Rūjiena Municipality Latvian decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Latvia Latvian people who died in Soviet detention