Paul Neumann (13 June 1875 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

– 9 February 1932) 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 swimmer and physician, who competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics 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 ...

and became the first ever Austrian gold medalist.

Biography

Neumann was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Neumann was first noticed for his swimming when in 1892 he won the Austrian National River Championship, two years later he won the 500 metres at the Austrian Championships. In 1896 Neumann travelled to

and competed in 1896 Summer Olympics, all three swimming events were on the same day, so with

Alfréd Hajós Alfréd Hajós (1 February 1878 – 12 November 1955) was a Hungarian swimmer, football player and manager, and architect. He was the first modern Olympic swimming champion and the first Olympic champion of Hungary. No other swimmer ever won s ...

, from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

withdrawing from the 500 metre freestyle race because he needed time to recover after winning the 100 metres, there were only three competitors for the 500 metres, which Neumann won in a time of 8:12.6 minutes nearly two minutes faster than his rivals. Neumann also entered the 1200 metre freestyle which was straight after his victory which is why he didn't finish the race. He immigrated to the U.S. after the 1896 Olympic Games. There, he became a physician, and earned a Ph.D. in philosophy. In 1897 while competing for the Chicago Athletics Association he set world records at 2, 3, 4, and 5 miles and in the same year he won the American and Canadian Freestyle Swimming Championships. In 1984, Neumann was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere arou ...

, and two years later he was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the s ...

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Paul 1875 births 1932 deaths Swimmers at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century sportsmen Olympic swimmers of Austria Olympic gold medalists for Austria Austro-Hungarian Jews Jewish swimmers Swimmers from Vienna Austro-Hungarian emigrants to the United States Jewish Austrian sportspeople Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics Austrian male freestyle swimmers Olympic gold medalists in swimming

Biography

See also

References

External links