Helmuth Kahl
Helmuth Kahl (born February 17, 1901 in Berlin ; † January 23, 1974 ) was a German pentathlete . He was the first non-Swedish medalist in modern pentathlon at the Olympic Games.
In 1912 , the modern pentathlon was on the program for the first time at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, and in the first three events only Swedish athletes had won medals. In 1928 there were two German athletes in Amsterdam who fought for the medals with the three Swedes: the Berlin officer Heinz Hax took the lead in the first discipline, pistol shooting, after the swim the Swede Sven Thofelt was ahead. Helmuth Kahl was the second best fencer in the competition and pushed himself way forward. In the end Thofelt won ahead of his compatriot Bo Lindman , Kahl was only two points behind Lindman and six points ahead of the third Swede Invar Berg, Hax was fifth.
Eight years after Kahl's bronze medal, Gotthard Handrick was the first non-Swede to become Olympic champion in modern pentathlon. After Kahl and Handrick, it took 72 years until the third Olympic medal in the modern pentathlon went to Germany: Lena Schöneborn won in 2008.
literature
- Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle I. Athens 1896 - Berlin 1936. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00715-6 .
Web links
- Helmuth Kahl in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kahl, Helmuth |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German modern pentathlon |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 17, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | 23rd January 1974 |