Fritz Thiedemann (; 3 March 1918 – 8 January 2000) was a German

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

, considered to be one of the greatest show jumpers of his time.

Biography

Thiedemann was born as the son of a farmer. His riding talents became clear at a young age, but he could not display them internationally until after

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 ...

. During the war, Theidemann commanded a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

unit and was captured and interred at a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n prison camp by war's end. At the 1952 Olympics in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Thiedemann won medals in two equestrian disciplines, a feat since unequalled. He placed third in the dressage team event, and won another bronze medal in the individual jumping contest with his favourite horse ''Meteor'', with which he would win all major prizes in his career. The following year, Thiedemann won a jumping silver at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Winning another medal (bronze) in that event in 1956 in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th ...

. That same year, he won a gold medal with the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Olympics in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, while just missing out on an individual medal with a fourth position. At the 1958 European Championships in Aachen, he took the title. Thiedemann was the flag-bearer of the United Team of Germany (composed of both East and West German athletes) at the 1960 Olympics in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The United Team of Germany successfully defended their jumping title, Thiedemann winning his fourth Olympic medal. In addition, he placed 6th in the individual jumping competition. Thiedemann died in his birthplace

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

aged 81. The Thiedemann rein is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiedemann, Fritz 1918 births 2000 deaths People from Heide Sportspeople from Schleswig-Holstein German show jumping riders German dressage riders Olympic equestrians of West Germany Olympic equestrians of the United Team of Germany Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics German male equestrians Equestrians at the 1956 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United Team of Germany Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Olympic medalists in equestrian Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics German Army officers of World War II