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Joseph ("Josy") Barthel (24 April 1927 – 7 July 1992) was a
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...
. He was the surprise winner of the Men's
1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...
at the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
, and the only athlete representing Luxembourg to have won a
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
at the Olympics. Besides athletics, Barthel also led successful careers in both chemistry and politics.


Biography

Born in
Mamer Mamer () is a commune and town (strictly classified as a village) in south-western Luxembourg. It is located west of Luxembourg City. The commune includes Mamer itself, and also the smaller communities of Capellen and Holzem. Mamer is situated ...
, Josy Barthel's abilities as a
middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...
were discovered during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. His first fame came by winning the 800 m at the Military World Championships in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
in 1947. The next year at Military World Championships in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
he won both 800 m and 1500 m. At the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ...
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 ...
, Barthel finished ninth at the 1500 m final. Then he won Student World Championships in 1949 (1500 m) and 1951 (800 m and 1500 m). The absolute high point of Barthel's career was the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
, where he surprised the crowd and himself by winning the 1500 m with a very strong finish. He also participated at the
1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...
, after which he retired from running. He was also Luxembourg champion in 800 m and 1500 m from 1946 to 1956. In 1962 Barthel became the president of the
Luxembourg Athletics Federation The Luxembourg Athletics Federation (french: Fédération Luxembourgeoise d’Athlétisme), abbreviated to FLA, is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Luxembourg. It was founded on 11 November 1928, replacing the Federation of Luxem ...
, then from 1973 to 1977 he was the president of the Luxembourgish Olympic and Sporting Committee. He was also member of the Luxembourg government from 1977 to 1984. Josy Barthel died in
Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...
after a severe illness. The former national stadium of Luxembourg, home until September 2021, to the
Luxembourg national football team The Luxembourg national football team (nicknamed the ''Red Lions''; lb, Lëtzebuergesch Foussballnationalequipe, french: Équipe du Luxembourg de football, german: Luxemburgische Fußballnationalmannschaft) is the national football team of Luxe ...
, was named
Stade Josy Barthel The Stade Josy Barthel is the former national stadium of Luxembourg, and the former home of the Luxembourg national football team. The stadium, which also hosted rugby union and athletics events, is located on route d'Arlon, in the Luxembour ...
in his honor. The
Lycée Technique Josy Barthel Lycée Josy Barthel ( en, Josy Barthel High School), abbreviated to LJBM, is a high school in Mamer, in south-western Luxembourg. It was opened in September 2003, and cost €67.4m to build. It comprises 60 classrooms and 16 workshops, and has a ca ...
in Mamer also bears his name. In 2006, Barthel was accused of doping by sports journalist Erik Eggers in the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
newspaper ''
Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, ...
.'' Eggers cited German physician Oskar Wegener who did research on
methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...
and other doping substances in the 1950s. Wegener strongly denied saying Barthel had any connection with doping. The use of such substances was neither prohibited nor controlled until the 1960s.


Footnotes


External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barthel, Josy Luxembourgian male middle-distance runners Luxembourgian sportsperson-politicians Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Luxembourg Olympic gold medalists for Luxembourg Ministers for the Environment of Luxembourg Ministers for Transport of Luxembourg Ministers for Energy of Luxembourg Councillors in Luxembourg City Democratic Party (Luxembourg) politicians Luxembourgian chemists 1927 births 1992 deaths People from Mamer Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)