Otto Scheff, born Otto Sochaczewsky (December 12, 1889 – October 26, 1956) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n freestyle swimmer,

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player, lawyer,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, and sports official who competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games, in the 1908 Summer Olympics, and in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Scheff was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, he was still at school in 1906 and it was only for the intervention of the Austrian Olympic Committee he was allowed three weeks leave to compete in the 1906 Intercalated Games in

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 ...

. At those Games he competed in three events, first up was the 1 mile freestyle race, it was a straight final with Scheff coming in third for the bronze medal behind winner Henry Taylor and second place John Arthur Jarvis both from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, three days later Scheff got revenge on the two British swimmers by winning the gold medal by two seconds in the 400 metre freestyle, he was also part of the 4×250 metre freestyle relay team, but they didn't finish the race. Two years later he was in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for the 1908 Summer Olympics, again he entered three events, in the 400 metre freestyle he won another bronze medal and again losing to Henry Taylor, he also reached the final of the 1500 metre freestyle but didn't finish the race, he also managed to reach the semi-finals of the 100 metre freestyle. At the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm he participated in the water polo tournament as part of the Austrian team finishing in fourth place. From 1945 to 1953 he was elected to the

National Council of Austria The National Council (german: Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsi ...

as a member of the Austrian People's Party. He was vice president of the

Austrian Olympic Committee The Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC) (german: link=no, Österreichisches Olympisches Comité) is the non-profit organization representing Austrian athletes in the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ÖOC also represents the selection of A ...

. He died at

Maria Enzersdorf Maria Enzersdorf (Central Bavarian: ''Maria Enzasduaf'') is a small city in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. There are several castles and ruins in the forests surrounding Maria Enzersdorf, including Liechtenstei ...

in 1956. His daughter Gertraud Scheff was already qualified for the 1940 Summer Olympics in

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

, when the games were cancelled.

Mödling Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna. Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises in the Vienna Woods, ...

named a street "Dr. Otto Scheff-Weg".

References

External links

profile with picture
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheff, Otto 1889 births 1956 deaths Sportspeople from Berlin Austrian Jews Austrian male freestyle swimmers Austrian male water polo players Jewish swimmers Olympic swimmers of Austria Olympic water polo players of Austria Swimmers at the 1906 Intercalated Games Swimmers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Austria World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games

Biography

See also

References

External links