Arthur Jonath (9 September 1909 – 14 April 1963) was a German sprinter. He competed at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

in the 4 × 100 m, 100 m and 200 m events and finished in second, third and fourth place, respectively. Jonath was a boxer, and switched to athletics due to a hand injury. In 1931-1932 he won the German titles in both 100 m and 200 m. He set three indoor world records in the 50 m and 60 m in 1930 and 1931, and two outdoor world records in the 100 m in 1932 and 1933; he set three more world records with the German 4 × 100 m relay team. Jonath finished third behind

George Saunders George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's'', ''McSweeney's'', and '' GQ''. He also contributed a we ...

in the 100 yards event at the British

1933 AAA Championships The 1933 AAA Championships was the 1933 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 7 to 8 July 1933 at White City Stadium in London, England. The Championship ...

. After the Los Angeles Games, Jonath stayed in the United States upon invitation from actresses

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. He was offered American citizenship and a university education, but his stepfather brought him back to Germany. Jonath was a guest of honor at the Berlin Olympics. 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 ...

he fought as an SS officer on the Eastern Front; he was taken prisoner by the Soviet troops and then transferred to an American

prisoner-of-war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

camp near

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. After the war Jonath ran a petrol station and trained runners at ''FSV 1899 Frankfurt''. His nephew Ulrich also became a prominent athletic coach.

References

1909 births 1963 deaths People from Fröndenberg Athletes from Arnsberg (region) Sportspeople from the Province of Westphalia Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics German male sprinters Olympic athletes for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Waffen-SS personnel SS officers German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States 20th-century German sportsmen {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub