Carl Schuhmann
Carl Schuhmann (
12 May 1869 –
24 March 1946) was a
German athlete, who won four Olympic titles in
gymnastics and
wrestling at the
1896 Summer Olympics in
Athens. He also competed in
weightlifting.
|
Schuhmann (left) before the Olympic wrestling final, which he won |
Schuhmann, who was a member of the Berliner Turnerschaft, was a member of the successful German gymnastics team that won the team events in the
horizontal bar and
parallel bars events. Schuhmann added a third title by winning the horse vault event. He also competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar,
pommel horse, and rings events without success. The only extant information about his placing in those events, besides not being a medallist, is that he placed fifth in the rings competition.
Schuhmann then entered the wrestling competition, which he also won, even though he was much lighter and smaller than most of the other combatants. In the first round, he faced
Launceston Elliot of
Great Britain and Ireland, who had won the
weightlifting competition. Schuhmann won easily. The semifinals resulted in a bye for the German. In the final, he faced
Georgios Tsitas of
Greece. The match went for 40 minutes before it was determined that it was too dark to continue and the bout was postponed until a second day. The next morning, Schuhmann quickly finished the bout with a win for a gold medal.
He also entered the
weightlifting competition, but did not win any prizes.
Schuhmann was one of nine athletes to compete in the
long jump. The only information known about his placing in the event is that he was not one of the top four. He also placed fifth in the
triple jump and in the bottom three of a seven man field in the
shot put.
Schuhmann tied for fourth place in the two-handed weightlifting competition now known as the
clean and jerk. He and
Georgios Papasideris of
Greece both lifted 90.0 kilograms.
*
Biography from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
