Alvin Kraenzlein

Alvin Kraenzlein
Alwin Kraenzlein in the University of Pennsylvania Shirt (1899)
Full name	Alvin Christian Kraenzlein
nation	United States
birthday	December 12, 1876
place of birth	Milwaukee , United States
size	183 cm
Weight	75 kg
date of death	January 6, 1928
Place of death	Wilkes-Barre , United States
Career
discipline	Hurdles , long jump
society	Penn Quakers
Medal table
Olympic games 4 × 0 × 0 ×
Olympic games gold Paris 1900 60 m gold Paris 1900 110 m hurdles gold Paris 1900 200 m hurdles gold Paris 1900 Long jump

Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein (born December 12, 1876 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , † January 6, 1928 in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania ) was an American athlete . He was the first athlete in the history of the modern Olympic Games to achieve four Olympic victories in individual competitions (before 1904 he was still rewarded with silver medals).

Career

Kraenzlein showed his athletic talent at the East Side High School in his hometown of Milwaukee and from 1895 as a student at the University of Wisconsin . The most successful coach in US athletics at the time, Mike Murphy , noticed Kraenzlein's talent early on and convinced him to move to the University of Pennsylvania , where he studied dentistry and graduated in 1900 with the title of Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) .

Kraenzlein won the first track and field title in 1897 at the championships of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) , which corresponded to the national championships of the USA, in the hurdles over 220  yards . He repeated this success in 1898 and 1899 and in those years also won the 110-yard hurdles title. Also at the championships of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) , which corresponded to the student championships in the USA, he was unbeatable on these two routes from 1898 to 1900.

His success in hurdles was the result of a new hurdle technique he had developed. He crossed the hurdles with the guide leg stretched straight forward and achieved a smooth run without losing much speed in front of the hurdles. This running style is still practiced today in an almost unchanged form.

The implementation of the new hurdle technique required a certain speed and enormous jumping ability. Kraenzlein had both. So it was not surprising when in addition to his successes in the hurdles in the long jump was in 1899 champion of the AAU and the IC4A and 1900 champion of the AAU over 100 yards. In just four years he won 8 student championships and 6 national championships.

Together with a number of fellow students from the University of Pennsylvania, Kraenzlein was sent on a trip to the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris . During a stopover in England , just a few days before the start of the athletics competitions in Paris, he took part in the championships of the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) , which corresponded to the British championships. He won the 120 yard hurdles ahead of his eventual competitor in the Olympics, Norman Pritchard . He also won the long jump.

At the Olympic Games in Paris, he lived up to his role as a favorite. He won the gold medal in all four disciplines in which he started, the 60-meter run, the 110-meter hurdle run , the 200-meter hurdle run and the long jump. In his victories, he set two world records (7.0 s over 60 m and 15.4 s over 110 m hurdles) and two Olympic records (25.4 s over 200 m hurdles and 7.185 m in the long jump).

Alvin Kraenzlein at the hurdles

His victory in the long jump was remarkable. His fiercest competitor, Meyer Prinstein , achieved a distance of 7.175 m in qualifying, Kraenzlein only 6.93 m. For the final competition, which was held on a Sunday, Prinstein did not start because his university (the Methodist University of Syracuse) threatened him with de-registration in the event of a start. However, the qualifying distances were counted and Kraenzlein had the chance in the final to outbid Prinstein's performance. He actually succeeded, if only by an inch.

The placements at the Olympic Games for Alvin Christian Kraenzlein:

• II. Olympic Games 1900, Paris
  • 60 m - gold with 7.0 s (silver to Walter Tewksbury from the USA with 7.1 s; bronze to Stan Rowley from Australia with 7.2 s)
  • 110 m hurdles - gold with 15.4 s (silver to John McLean from the USA with 15.5 s; bronze to Frederick Moloney from the USA with 15.6 s)
  • 200 m hurdles - gold with 25.4 s (silver to Norman Pritchard from India with 26.6 s; bronze to Walter Tewksbury from the USA with 26.9 s)
  • Long jump - gold with 7.185 m (silver to Meyer Prinstein from the USA with 7.175 m; bronze to Patrick Leahy from the United Kingdom with 6.95 m)

Note: With the exception of the time of the winner, the running times are estimated as there was no time measurement for those placed. With them, the gap to the winner or the first place was determined with a length specification.

In 1901 Kraenzlein took part in the AAA championships again during a stay in England and again won the hurdles over 120 yards. This was his last big title, after which he retired from active competitive sports. At that time he still held six world records , which at that time were not yet official.

He first worked as a dentist in Philadelphia for a few years and married Claudine Gilman. In 1906 he first made a name for himself as a trainer for athletics at the University of Michigan and the Mercersburg Academy , where he took over a professorship in physical education in 1910 . One of his students was Ralph Craig , who later became a two-time Olympic champion at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm .

On his trip in autumn 1913, financed with funds from the Reich Ministry of the Interior, Carl Diem recruited him to Germany as Reich coach . Because of the US successes at the 1908 and 1912 Olympics, many states brought in American coaches. Kraenzlein first organized courses for athletics teachers, the first on October 13th in Berlin . He should also find talent for the Olympic team. Kraenzlein had a contract until the end of 1916, as the funding from the Reich was only guaranteed until the Olympic Games (which were planned for Berlin). After the cancellation of the games because of the First World War , Alvin Kraenzlein returned to the USA and served as an instructor for physical training in the army. After the war he tried again as a trainer, first at the University of Pennsylvania and finally in Cuba .

Kraenzlein died of heart disease at the age of 51.

1974 Alvin Kraenzlein was in the national pantheon included the USA Track & Field, National Track & Field Hall of Fame , and in 1985 into the US Olympic Hall of Fame .

Web links

Commons : Alvin Kraenzlein  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Alvin Kraenzlein in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e In} 1900 the first three places were not awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in their current form. In some sports and competitions, silver or bronze plaques were awarded.
2. ↑ Arnd Krüger : "Buying victories is positively degrading". The European origins of Government Pursuit of National Prestige through Sports, in: International Journal of the History of Sport 12 (1995), 2, 201-218