Karol Rómmel (, ; 23 May 1888 – 7 March 1967) was a Polish and Russian military officer, sportsman and horse rider. He competed in the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
(in the Russian team), the
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...
, and in the
1928 Summer Olympics
The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...
(for Poland). As a military officer he served with distinction in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Karol Rómmel was born on 23 May other sources report his day of birth: ''May 22'' 1888, in
Grodno
Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
(then in
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, now in Belarus) to family of Karol Aleksander Rummel,Some sources cite Alfons Rummel; for instance the Polish Biographical Dictionary a general in Russian service and commanding officer of the 26th Artillery Brigade stationed in that town. His mother was Maria née Marcinkiewicz.
Like his brothers Juliusz (who later rose to the rank of General of the
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
), Wilhelm, Waldemar and Jan, Karol Rómmel joined the ranks of the
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
. He graduated from the
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
-based Cadet Corps and the Pavel Military School. He also received a master's degree at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Saint Petersburg. Already in his youth he started training various equestrian disciplines. His first international tournament in 1910 was a failure, but he started extensive training and already in 1912 he participated for Russia in the individual jumping competition at the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. Despite a serious injury (his fall during the final run cost him six broken ribs) he scored 178 points and finished fifteenth, 8 points behind the gold medallist Jacques Cariou of France. Immediately upon reaching the final fence Rómmel lost consciousness and had to be hospitalised. His strong will however impressed king Gustaf V of Sweden so much that he awarded Rómmel with a personal gold medal.
In 1914 he started service in the Kalisz-based 14th '' Little Russian''
Dragoon
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...
Regiment, in the rank of Captain of cavalry ('' rotmistr''). The
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
put an end to Rómmel's sports career. He served with distinction at the Eastern Front of World War I. In 1918 together with his brother Juliusz Rómmel and a large part of their family, Karol Polonised his name from the original Rummel to Rómmel.
On 15 August 1919 he joined the newly-formed
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...
, the highest Polish military decoration. He was withdrawn from front-line service and became a cavalry instructor at various military colleges in
Przemyśl
Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
Grudziądz
Grudziądz (, ) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its province.
Grudziądz is one of the oldest citie ...
.
After the armistice he remained in the army as a professional soldier. He also resumed his sporting career as the main coach of the Polish equestrian national team. He finished tenth in the individual three-day event and seventh with the Polish team in the team three-day event. He also placed tenth in the individual jumping. As a member of the Polish jumping team he finished sixth in the team jumping competition. One of his team mates was Tadeusz Komorowski, the future General of the Polish Army and commanding officer of the
Home Army
The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
. In 1928 again representing Poland he won the silver medal in the team three-day event with his horse ''Doneuse'' after finishing 26th in the individual three-day event.
He also participated in numerous international games, winning World Cup three times: in 1925, 1927 (
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and 1928 (
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionPolish Sportspersonality of the Year he ended up second only to Halina Konopacka. Rómmel was 51 when in 1939 he set the last pre-war high jump record (198 centimetres).
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Rómmel remained in the German-occupied part of Poland. Arrested during the AB Action, he was imprisoned and spent the remainder of the war in German concentration camps of Dachau and Mauthausen-Gusen. After the war he settled in
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
, where he continued to coach younger generations of horse riders. He also served as a horsemanship consultant in various films (and had a cameo appearance in 1959 '' Lotna'' by
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...
Aleksander Ford
Aleksander Ford (born Mosze Lifszyc; 24 November 1908 in Kiev, Russian Empire – 4 April 1980 in Naples, Florida, United States, U.S.) was a Polish film director and head of the Polish People's Army of Poland, People's Army Film Crew in the Sov ...
). He died on 7 March 1967 in Elbląg, and is buried at the
Gdańsk
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
Although the Rummel family felt Polish and spoke Polish at home, they were in fact heirs to one of the oldest German families in Central Europe, tracing its roots to certain Matthias Heinrich
Freiherr
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...
Westphalia
Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
in their struggle against the pagan
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples (, ) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians ...
. Because of Karol Rómmel's service in the Russian Army he is often referred to as Russian. Because he was born in what is now a Belarusian city of Hrodna, he is sometimes referred to as "the first Belarusian olympian".