Harry George Goelitz (January 9, 1894 – May 14, 1971) was an American

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

. He competed in the men's decathlon at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

. Goelitz was trained at

Oak Park and River Forest High School Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) is a public four-year high school located in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. It is the only school in Oak Park and River Forest District 200. Founded in 1871, the current school building ope ...

Bob Zuppke Robert Carl Zuppke (July 2, 1879 – December 22, 1957) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Illinois—now known as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign–from 1913 until 1941, compili ...

, and at Mercersburg Academy by Jimmy Curran. In late 1913 he was thrown out of Mercersburg due to leaving the grounds without permission. He transferred to Keewatin Academy in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. In 1921 Goelitz's leg was crushed between a cement mixer and a road roller. He was rushed to hospital and recovered, but it is likely this accident ended his athletics career.Olympic Games Track Star Hurt by Road Roller, ''Chicago Tribune'', November 11, 1921

References

1894 births 1971 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics American male decathletes Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Sportspeople from Oak Park, Illinois Track and field athletes from Illinois Olympic decathletes 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-decathlon-athletics-bio-stub