Hermann Salomon (13 April 1938 – 11 June 2020) was a German

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

er. He competed in the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

, in the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

, and in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. Born in the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrou ...

, Salomon first competed for the German team of

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

, before moving to USC Mainz when he was 23 years old in 1961. Salomon's first international success was in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

at the

1959 Summer Universiade The 1959 Summer Universiade, also known as the I Summer Universiade, took place in Turin, Italy. Sports * Athletics * Basketball * Fencing * Swimming * Tennis * Volleyball * Water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive ...

, where he won a gold medal in the javelin and then a silver medal in the pentathlon, he followed this up four year later in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

at the

1963 Summer Universiade The 1963 Summer Universiade, also known as the III Summer Universiade, took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Sports at the 1963 Summer Universiade * * * * * * * * * Medal table 1963 U U Summer Universiade Universiade The FISU World ...

with a silver medal in the javelin. 1960 saw Salomon's first Olympic appearance at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in the

, where he qualified in ninth place for the final and in the final he finished in 12th place, four years later at the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

he missed out on qualifying by 0.4 metres, but he made up for it in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

at the

where again he managed to reach the final and finished in 12th place. Salomon won the national champion title six times in the javelin throw between 1960 and 1968, and was also national champion in the pentathlon five times between 1959 and 1964. In 1971 Salomon was received the Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award. After retiring Salomon became a professor in

Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

Sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sports and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally i ...

and worked at the

University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salomon, Hermann 1938 births 2020 deaths German male javelin throwers Olympic athletes for the United Team of Germany Olympic athletes for West Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes from Gdańsk People from the Free City of Danzig FISU World University Games gold medalists for Germany Medalists at the 1959 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1963 Summer Universiade West German Athletics Championships winners 20th-century German sportsmen