Leon Rotman (born 22 July 1934) is a retired

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

. He won two individual gold medals at the 1956 Olympics and a bronze medal in 1960.

Life and sporting career

Rotman is Jewish, and was born to a working-class

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He took up several sports in the years immediately 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 ...

and was fascinated by canoeing after seeing the famous Czech champions Jan Brzák-Felix and Bohumil Kudrna compete on Lake Snagov near Bucharest in 1953. He joined the Dinamo Bucharest sports club, in the hope of getting one of the Czech-made canoes left by the two in Romania. He did not, but he was remarked by famous coach Radu Huţan after becoming national champion in improvised canoes. He would eventually compete at the Olympics on the first canoe ever made in Romania (at the factories in Reghin,

Mureș County Mureș County (, ro, Județul Mures, hu, Maros megye) is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative ...

). At the

1956 Summer Olympic Games The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, despite having a sprained ankle, Rotman won both the C-1 1000 m and 10000 m events, equaling Swede

Gert Fredriksson Gert Fridolf Fredriksson (21 November 1919 – 5 July 2006) was a Swedish sprint canoeist. Competing in four Summer Olympics, he won eight medals including six golds (1948: K-1 1000 m, K-1 10000 m; 1952: K-1 1000 m, 1956: K-1 1000 m, K-1 10000 ...

's performance who, at the same Olympics, won gold in both individual

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each ...

events. He was the first Romanian to win two medals in one Olympics. At the next Olympics he won a bronze in the C-1 1000 m event. He was slightly less successful in other competitions (fifth in the 1957 and 1961 European Championships in C-1 1000 m, and seventh at the 1963 World Championships in C-1 10000 m). He won, however, the Snagov Regatta seven times and 14 national titles before retiring in 1963. After retiring from competitions Rotman worked as a canoeing coach in Bucharest.

References

External links

1956 Canoe/Kayak Flatwater medalists on the IOC websiteRomanian Canoe and Kayak olympic medalists' biographies on the Romanian Olympic Foundation website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotman, Leon 1934 births Living people Sportspeople from Bucharest Jewish Romanian sportspeople Romanian male canoeists Canoeists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic canoeists of Romania Olympic gold medalists for Romania Olympic bronze medalists for Romania Olympic medalists in canoeing Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics

Life and sporting career

See also

References

External links