Ernst Schmidt (athlete)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ernst Schmidt at the GDR championships in 1954

Ernst Schmidt (born February 1, 1920 in Semmelsberg ; † September 15, 2000 in Oranienburg ) was a German athlete who was one of the most successful athletes in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in its early years.

Career

During the Second World War, the world of athletics was severely restricted, only in the USA, Sweden and South America, as well as at the beginning of the war in Germany and Italy and at the end of the war in the Soviet Union, athletics was practiced at a high level. In the decathlon from 1931 to 1943, only athletes from the USA, Germany and Sweden ranked number one on the world's best list of the year. Ernst Schmidt took first place in 1942 with 7280 points. Until Manfred Bock in 1964, he was the last German in this position. Schmidt achieved the 7280 points (6807 points according to today's scoring) on ​​July 25th and 26th in Berlin when he became German champion. In 1943, Schmidt took second place.

After the war, Schmidt returned to competitions in 1947. He won the pentathlon and the shot put at the Berlin Championships , which were open to all athletes from the Soviet occupation zone and from Berlin. In 1949 he won the Eastern Zone Championships in the shot put and was second behind Marcellus Marcus in the discus throw . In 1950 the first championships of the German Democratic Republic took place after the state was founded. Schmidt was GDR champion with the ball and with the discus, in pentathlon and decathlon. In 1951 Schmidt also tried his hand at hammer throwing at the GDR championships and finished second behind Marcellus Marcus. In 1951 Schmidt also took part in the UIE Sports Weeks, the Universiade of the Eastern Bloc. In the shot put he took fourth place, in the decathlon he won the bronze medal. After 1951 Schmidt did not contest an all-around competition, but won other GDR championship titles with discus and ball until 1954.

Ernst Schmidt was one of the founders of the GDR's NOK as early as 1951 , and Schmidt was vice-president until 1953. Schmidt was twice chairman of the GDR Athletics Association (DVfL) for a short time, and from 1959 to 1966 Schmidt was an assessor on the DVfL Presidium. For his contribution to the success of athletics in the GDR at the 1976 Olympic Games , he was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold.

After his active career, Ernst Schmidt was an association trainer for all-around and throwing, later only for throwing, which in the 1960s shaped the rise of the GDR throwers to world class. One of the greatest talents whose rise to world class Ernst Schmidt accompanied was his son Wolfgang Schmidt . Because of the Second World War and the international non-recognition of the GDR in its early years, Ernst Schmidt was never able to participate in major championships. When Wolfgang Schmidt was arrested in 1982 for plans to escape, his father lost his position as an association coach after 28 years and had to work in a subordinate position in recent years until he retired: He was responsible for the equipment in the GDR stadiums, including the purchase of bullets, discussions but also of stopwatches. After his son Wolfgang was legally released from the citizenship of the GDR on November 2, 1987 and moved to the Federal Republic, Schmidt was no longer allowed to work for GDR sports and was released. In 1988 Ernst Schmidt retired.

Records

Ernst Schmidt was unable to break the pre-war records in any discipline, which, like Willy Schröder's discus record or Hans-Heinrich Sievert's decathlon record, had sometimes been world records when they were set. But he set up numerous GDR records.

In the shot put, Ernst Schmidt set the GDR's first eleven national records. Fritz Kühl exceeded his best performance of 1952 in 1956. Ernst Schmidt set nine national records with the discus, and Martin Schoelzgen's last one in June 1954 was improved three months later. In the decathlon, Schmidt set two national records, both of which were significantly weaker than his performance in 1942. In 1953 Walter Meier increased Schmidt's record. Schmidt also set a GDR record of 7.02 m in the long jump in 1950, which Hans Key broke two months later .

Championship title

Germany

  • Pentathlon: 1942
  • Decathlon: 1942

GDR

  • Shot put: 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954
  • Discus throw: 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953
  • Pentathlon: 1950
  • Decathlon: 1950

Top performances

  • 100-meter run: 11.2 s (1941)
  • 200-meter run: 22.8 s (1941)
  • 400-meter run: 49.8 s (1942)
  • 1500 meter run: 4: 45.8 min (1942)
  • 110-meter hurdles: 15.8 s (1942)
  • High jump: 1.81 m (1942)
  • Pole vault: 3.50 m (1942)
  • Long jump: 7.25 m (1942)
  • Shot put: 15.85 m (1952)
  • Discus throw: 46.24 m (1954)
  • Hammer throw: 46.51 m (1953)
  • Javelin throw: 57.78 m (1952)
  • Decathlon: 7280 points (1942)

societies

  • TV Garsebach
  • Post-SV Cologne
  • Air Force SV Berlin
  • SG Meißen
  • SG Großenhain (until 1949)
  • SG Northeast Berlin (1950–1951)
  • BSG Northeast Berlin (from 1952)

literature

  • Klaus Amrhein: Biographical manual on the history of German athletics 1898–2005 . 2 volumes. Darmstadt 2005 published by Deutsche Leichtathletik Promotion- und Projektgesellschaft, page 1054f (main source)
  • Ernst Schmidt . Portrait on the occasion of his 75th birthday. in DGLD – Bulletin 12 of March 15, 1995, pages 91–93 (used in particular for the individual services)
  • Manfred Grieser : Ernst Schmidt . Obituary. in DGLD – Bulletin 29 of November 1st, 2000, page 58 (used especially in the coaching career)
  • Volker Kluge : The great lexicon of GDR athletes. The 1000 most successful and popular athletes from the GDR, their successes and biographies. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-348-9 , page 338.
  • Fritz Steinmetz and Manfred Grieser: German records. Development from 1898 to 1991. Kassel 1992

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus Amrhein corrected the place of birth of Garsebach on Semmelsberg in DGLD Bulletin No. 79/2017 on p. 120
  2. ^ Manfred Holzhausen: world records and world record holder. Decathlon . Grevenbroich 2004, page 117f
  3. ↑ About the honor for the Olympic team of the GDR. Awarded high government awards. Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold. In: New Germany . September 10, 1976, p. 4 , accessed on April 10, 2018 (online at ZEFYS - newspaper portal of the Berlin State Library , free registration required).
  4. ^ William O. Johnson, Anita Verschoth: Thrown Free. Wolfgang Schmidt. The glamor and misery of a German sports career. Ullstein, Frankfurt / Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-548-23212-4 , p. 198
  5. ↑ DGLD Bulletin 12, page 93
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Ernst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German athlete
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Semmelsberg
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 2000
Place of death Oranienburg