Erich Rademacher

Erich "Ete" Rademacher (born June 9, 1901 in Magdeburg , † April 2, 1979 in Stuttgart ) was a successful German swimmer .

Life

Erich Rademacher, a trained insurance salesman , was considered the best swimming athlete in Germany during his active time. He is named in a row with Arne Borg , Andrew Charlton , Gertrude Ederle , Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weißmüller as the most successful swimmer of the 1920s.

His sporting career began with SC Hellas Magdeburg , in whose boys' relay he won his first victory in 1913. He started for this club over a period of almost 20 years.

During this time he set 30 world records and won a large number of swimming as well as water polo competitions. In 1924 he held all world records for 100, 200, 400, and 500 meters in chest style . At the end of his career he could look back on 998 victories. Eight times he was German champion over 100 meters chest. He won European championship titles and was able to win medals at the Olympic Games . However, especially in his best-performing period, he was unable to take part in the Olympic Games of 1920 and 1924, as Germany was excluded from participation as a result of the First World War . He completed a swimming tour of the USA in 1926 and Japan in 1927 . In 1928 he was Olympic champion in water polo with the German team .

His brother Joachim Rademacher was also a successful swimmer. A swimming pool at the Bundeswehr air base in Wunstorf near Hanover was named after him.

successes

1919

34th German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1920

Berlin , 400 meters chest; 6: 29.5 minutes (world record)

35th German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1921

Vienna , 400 meters chest; 6: 12.8 minutes (world record)

36th German championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1922

Amsterdam , 200 meters chest; 2: 54.4 minutes (world record)

1923

Gothenburg , 400 meters chest (world record)

38th German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1924

Budapest , 200 yards (182.88 meters) chest; 2: 35.6 minutes (world record)

39th German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1925

Leipzig

100 meters chest; 1: 15.9 minutes (world record)

400 meters chest; 6: 05.0 minutes (world record)

500 meters chest; 7: 40.8 minutes (world record)

40th German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1926

New Haven , 400 yards chest; 5: 50.2 minutes (world record)

41st German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1927

Brussels , 200 meters chest, 2: 48.0 minutes (world record)

Bologna , 100 meters chest, 2: 55.2 minutes, European champion

42nd German Championships , 100 meters chest, German champion

1928

IX. Summer Olympic Games , Amsterdam

Gold medal in water polo

Silver medal over 200 meters chest; 2: 50.6 minutes

1932

X. Summer Olympic Games , Los Angeles

Silver medal in water polo (used as a goalkeeper)

Honors

In 1972 he was inducted into the international swimming pool 's hall of fame . In his honor, the city of Magdeburg named a street called Rademacherweg and an outdoor pool called Erich-Rademacher-Bad.

In 2008 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of German Sports .

literature

• Norbert Heise. In: Guido Heinrich, Gunter Schandera (ed.): Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon 19th and 20th centuries. Biographical lexicon for the state capital Magdeburg and the districts of Bördekreis, Jerichower Land, Ohrekreis and Schönebeck. Scriptum, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1 .
• Martin Wiehle : Magdeburg personalities. Published by the Magistrate of the City of Magdeburg, Department of Culture. imPuls Verlag, Magdeburg 1993, ISBN 3-910146-06-6 (with clearly different information).
• Kurt Wilke:  Rademacher, Ete. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 90 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

• Erich Rademacher in the International Swimming Hall of Fame (English)
• Portrait, dates and biography of Erich Rademacher in the Hall of Fame of German Sports
• Erich Rademacher in the Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon
• Erich Rademacher in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Norbert Heise, Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon, page 566