Arnold Frank (judoka, 1922)

Arnold "Arno" Frank (* around 1922 in Berlin ) is a former German judoka.

Life

Arnold Frank began to train Jiu Jitsu and Judo in the sports club “Post Berlin” in the mid-1930s . The training in the sports club and his athletic constitution led him to some successes in judo competitions and youth championships before he qualified for participation in the German championships. In 1940 he won the heavyweight judo championship in his hometown. The last judo championships advertised during the Second World War as the "best determination of the Reich" took place in Essen in 1941 , where Frank was able to take part as defending champion. However, he lost to the German master Hellmut Lehmannfrom Berlin, who rose from light heavyweight to heavyweight in 1941. As a judo runner-up, Frank survived the ensuing military service and captivity, from which he returned to Berlin.

In 1950, Frank made contact with the judoka in East Berlin , who were reorganized under the leadership of Hans Becker among the " heavy athletes " in the German Sports Committee (DS), and became a member of the BSG Turbine Wasserwerke Berlin . The "Heavy Athletics in the DS" department organized the second individual judo championships in the GDR in Erfurt in 1951 , where Frank won his first GDR championship title in the heavyweight division. He defended the championship title in May 1952 at the GDR championships in East Berlin. On the establishment of "Section Judo" in DS under the President Lothar Skorning Frank was founded in October 1952 as Chairman of the Refereeing Commission elected to the board.

In addition to his work in the profession and as a judo functionary in the "Judo section" in the DS, Frank remained active as a judo fighter in the BSG Turbine Wasserwerke and in 1953 achieved the runner-up title behind Rolf Haferkorn from the BSG Lokomotive Leipzig . He also qualified for participation in the All-German Judo Championships organized by the German Athletes' Association (DAB) in December 1953 in Bremerhaven . Frank only reached 5th place there. All-German heavyweight judo champion in 1953 was East Berlin's Dietrich Schnappup , who had finished third behind Frank in the previous GDR championships. During the 1st plenary meeting of the " Judo Section " in Leipzig in October 1953 , Frank was released from his official duties and Kurt Jahn from Leipzig was elected as the new chairman of the referee commission.

Freed from association work, from the end of 1953 onwards, Frank concentrated more on practicing his sport as an active and exercise leader in the BSG Turbine Waterworks . That paid off for him at the GDR championships in April 1954 in Niedersedlitz . He achieved his third GDR heavyweight championship title and received the “Honorary Prize for the best judo fighter” donated by Deputy Prime Minister Walter Ulbricht . He was then appointed to the GDR national team, which, at the invitation of the Czechoslovak Judo Association, fought abroad for the first time in late May 1954. When the two selection teams met, the GDR judoka lost 2:10 in Hradec Králové and drew 6: 6 in Pilsen . Frank won his fights against the 1954 European champion Zdeněk Písařík and the runner-up European champion Karel Vítek . Because of his outstanding performance as a judo fighter in 1954, Frank was the first judoka in the GDR to be awarded the honorary title of " Master of Sports " in January 1955 . At the national level, Frank last appeared in 1955 when he took part in the tournament for the Mitropa Cup of the European Judo Union (EJU) in Nuremberg as the oldest judoka of the GDR selection team .

Success as judoka (heavyweight)

• 1940: German champion
• 1941: German runner-up
• 1951: GDR champion
• 1952: GDR champion
• 1953: GDR runner-up
• 1954: GDR champion, winner in the international match ČSR vs. GDR over the European champion Zdeněk Písařík

Individual evidence

1. ^ Deutsche Zeitung im Ostland from November 14, 1941.
2. ^ German judo championships in Berlin in 1940 and in Essen in 1941
3. ↑ GDR Judo Championships 1950 to 1952
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Judo chronicle (preface) by Willi Gruschinski / Lothar Skorning