Elias Katz (22 June 1901 – 26 December 1947) was a Finnish

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, who competed mainly in the

3000 metres steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually Abbreviation, abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase (athletics), steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 met ...

in the 1920s. In 1933, he immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life.

Biography

Katz was born in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. He frequented local nightclubs, participated in dance marathons, and played soccer with the small Jewish sports club in Turku. While an amateur athlete, he worked as a shop assistant. When he was 18, Katz was invited to participate in a mid-distance race. After defeating the reigning champion, it was suggested to him to become a professional athlete. He began training in the main sports club of Turku, where he befriended the legendary Finnish runner

Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finland, Finnish middle-distance running, middle-distance and long-distance running, long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" because he dominated distance running in th ...

, who helped Katz improve his technique.Forgotten Olympic track champion’s legacy races on in Israel
/ref> He moved to

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 1921, where he joined the Jewish sports club Stjärnan, later Makkabi Helsinki. He ran two distances in the Finland-France competition in 1923 and became a candidate for the Finnish Olympic team. Katz competed for Finland in 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 ...

held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the 3000-meter steeple chase where he won the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

. He then joined with Paavo Nurmi and

Ville Ritola Vilho "Ville" Eino Ritola (18 January 1896 – 24 April 1982) was a Finnish long-distance runner. Known as one of the " Flying Finns", he won five Olympic gold medals and three Olympic silver medals in the 1920s. He holds the record of winning ...

to win the

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 b ...

in the 3,000-meter team race as well. In 1925, Katz moved to Berlin, Germany, where he joined the Bar Kokhba Jewish sports club. He worked at the KWD department store in Berlin to support himself. In 1926, he was part of the Finnish four-member team that set the world record in the 1,500-meter relay race. An ankle injury prevented him from participating 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 ...

in Amsterdam, and he worked as a trainer in the Bar Kokhba club until the Nazis came to power in Germany and banned Jews from participating in sport activities. Rather than return to Finland, Katz immigrated to

in 1933 along with many other fellow Bar Kokhba club members. There, he changed his name to Eliyahu and coached athletes of the Maccabi Association. Katz was coach of the Palestinian track team for the 1948 Maccabi Games. His coaching was on a voluntary basis in his spare time - he had hoped to find employment as a trainer, but was unpaid for his work and struggled to make a living. He worked as a guard and maintenance man at the

Maccabiah Stadium The Maccabiah Stadium ( ''Itztadion HaMakabiya'') was a football stadium on the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, Israel. Maccabiah Stadium was built in 1932 for the first Maccabiah Games and was filled to capacity for the opening ceremony. It was used ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, a bricklayer on construction sites, and a traveling film projectionist for the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

.Remembering Elias Katz, Finnish Olympic champion
/ref> In 1936, Katz married Dvora Kamtsan, a fellow Finnish Jewish immigrant to Palestine, and they had one daughter, Ilana, who was born in 1944. In December 1947, as the Civil War in Mandatory Palestine was raging, Katz screened a film at a British military camp in the Gaza area. Later that evening, he was killed by Arab sniper fire.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Elias 1901 births 1947 deaths People from Turku and Pori Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Athletes from Turku Finnish male long-distance runners Finnish male steeplechase runners Jewish track and field athletes Jews from Mandatory Palestine Olympic athletes for Finland Olympic gold medalists for Finland Olympic silver medalists for Finland Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Immigrants to Mandatory Palestine Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics 20th-century Finnish Jews Murdered Jews Finnish people murdered abroad Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Finnish emigrants Victims of Islamic terrorism Finnish people of Jewish descent People murdered in Mandatory Palestine Civilians killed in wars Deaths by firearm in the Gaza Strip Finnish expatriates in Germany 20th-century Finnish sportsmen

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links