Rudolph Novak (January 29, 1887, in

Chroustovice Chroustovice () is a market town in Chrudim District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,200 inhabitants. Administrative parts The villages of Březovice, Holešovice, Lhota u Chroustovic, Mentour, Městec and Poděčely ...

– October 16, 1968, in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

) was an American

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

who competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

. He was a gymnastics director at

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in be ...

and raised the popularity of the sport there. As a gymnast, he was a member of Cedar Rapids Sokol. Following his performance in the

, he was aboard the

RMS Homeric RMS ''Homeric'', originally launched as ''Columbus'', was an ocean liner built for Norddeutscher Lloyd and launched in 1913 at the F. Schichau yard in Danzig, Germany (now Gdańsk, Poland). ''Columbus'' was ceded to Great Britain in 1919 as part ...

when it encountered a hurricane and he was nearly swept overboard.

References

External links

* 1887 births 1968 deaths People from Chrudim District American male artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for the United States Gymnasts at the 1924 Summer Olympics Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States American people of Czech descent {{US-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub