Fritz Hofmann (born 19 June 1871 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

; died 14 July 1927 in Berlin,

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

) was a German

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

. He competed at the

1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad () and commonly known as Athens 1896 (), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wh ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

1896 Summer Olympics

Hofmann competed in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

. In the heats, he came in second out of five runners, qualifying for the final. There he again came in second, with his time of 12.2 seconds being 0.2 seconds behind the winner, Thomas Burke of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Hofmann also competed in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He placed second in his preliminary heat, advancing to the final. There, he finished in fourth place. He was credited as having finishing third for many years, but modern sources (based on 1896 documents) place him fourth behind

Charles Gmelin Charles Henry Stuart Gmelin (28 May 1872 – 12 October 1950) was a British athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Personal life Gmelin was born in Krishnanagar Nadia, in Bengal, India, where his father Frederick Gmel ...

. In the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

Hofmann placed last of the five athletes. His best jump was 1.55 metres. He also placed either sixth or seventh (with Khristos Zoumis of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

taking the other place) in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

, as well as in the bottom three of the seven man field in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

. He also competed in three

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

events, rope climbing and the team

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately long and positioned at above the floor. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally wear ...

and

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

. In the rope climbing Hofmann reached the highest of the three gymnasts who did not finish, receiving a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

behind the two

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climbers, who reached the top of the 14 metre rope. Hofmann made it to 12.5 metres. In the team, Hofmann was the captain of the German team that won both competitions.

Later life

Hofmann, along with the rest of the 1896 German Olympic gymnastics team, was excluded from the German Gymnastics Association and banned from German national gymnastics competitions for competing in an international sporting event. He remained involved in athletics, however, captaining the German team at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

and

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

, as well as the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

(at which he also competed again in the 100 metres, finishing 5th in his first-round heat). From 1904 to 1927, he served on the German

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

"Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Olympische Spiele" (''"German Imperial Commission for Olympic Games"''), which was renamed '' Deutscher Reichsausschuss für Leibesübungen'' (''"German Imperial Commission for Physical Exercise"'') in 1917. Hofmann owned a sports articles business, opened a "sports-bath", and edited a health magazine.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Fritz 1871 births 1927 deaths German male sprinters German male artistic gymnasts Olympic athletes for Germany Olympic gymnasts for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1896 Summer Olympics 19th-century German sportsmen Gymnasts at the 1896 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in gymnastics Athletes from Berlin Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Medalists at the 1896 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic male high jumpers 20th-century German sportsmen