Franz Schmitt (wrestler)

Franz Schmitt (born September 5, 1937 in Aschaffenburg ) is a former German wrestler .

Career

Franz Schmitt grew up in Aschaffenburg and started wrestling with Philipp Büttner. He learned the trade of toolmaker. As a wrestler, he soon performed well at the regional level. In 1955, at the age of 18, starting for the SV "Einigkeit" Aschaffenburg-Damm , he was the first German junior champion in the Greco-Roman style in featherweight ahead of Friedel Krug from Dortmund and Werner Seger from Freiburg-St.Georgen , an older man Brother of the eventual world champion Adolf Seger . For the first time German champion among seniors, Franz Schmitt was 1957 in the featherweight in Greco-Roman style. He repeated this title win in 1958. Later, Franz grew into the lightweight and won several German championship titles in this weight class. His toughest competitors were Edmund Seger , another brother of Adolf Seger, Gottlieb Neumair , Klaus Rost and Manfred Schöndorfer .

Franz made his debut at international championships at the World Championships in Greco-Roman style in 1958 in Budapest . In featherweight he won two fights, but then met Olympic champion Müzahir Sille from Turkey and the former world champion Vladimir Stashkewitsch from the USSR , against whom he was defeated and came in a good 6th place.

In 1960, Franz Schmitt took 4th place in the all-German Olympic elimination in the lightweight, Greco-Roman style, and was therefore unable to start in Rome.

In 1964 Franz Schmitt was nominated again for the all-German Olympic qualification with the GDR . In the lightweight he fought three tough battles against Eckhard Schulz from Rostock , against whom he was ultimately able to prevail. In Tokyo , Franz Schmitt fought very well in the Olympic wrestling tournament, won two fights, but failed to Stevan Horvat from Yugoslavia and Dawid Gwandseladze from the USSR and took 9th place.

In 1966 and 1967 Franz Schmitt achieved his best results at international championships with a 5th place in the lightweight at the European Championships in Essen and Minsk . For the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City , he could no longer qualify. He then resigned from international competition, but wrestled for many years for ASV Mainz 1888, to which he had switched, in the top German wrestling league.

With the SV "Einigkeit" Aschaffenburg-Damm he was German team champion in 1963 and 1964 and with the ASV Mainz 1888 in 1973.

Trainer

After finishing his career as an active wrestler, Franz Schmitt became a trainer in Hessian and southwest Germany. Numerous wrestlers owe their skills and successes to him. His most famous student was probably the multiple world and European champion and Olympic silver medalist Rıfat Yıldız from Aschaffenburg.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championship, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, F = freestyle, Fe = featherweight, Le = lightweight, then up to 62 kg or 68 kg body weight)

• 1958, 6th place , World Cup in Budapest , GR, Fe, with victories over Klaus Kropka , GDR and Johann Marte, Austria and defeats to Müzahir Sille , Turkey and Vladimir Staschkewitsch , USSR ;
• 1964, 9th place , OS in Tokyo , GR, Le, with victories over Wahidullah Said, Afghanistan and Franz Berger , Austria and defeats against Stevan Horvat , Yugoslavia and Dawid Gwandseladze , USSR;
• 1965, 11th place , World Championships in Helsingborg , GR, Le, with a win over Guy Collignon, France , a draw against Åge Barlie, Norway and a loss against Rasul Mirmalek, Iran ;
• 1966, 5th place , EM in Essen , GR, Le, with victories over Ion Gabor, Romania and Petros Galaktopoulos , Greece and defeats against Åge Barlie and Antal Speer , Hungary ;
• 1967, 4th place , “Klippan” tournament, GR, Le, behind Klaus Pohl , GDR, Martti Poikkala , Finland and Hansen, Denmark;
• 1967, 5th place , EM in Minsk , GR, Le, with victories over Piero Bellotti, Italy and Jiři Sedlak, CSSR , a draw against Branislav Martinović , Yugoslavia and a defeat against Gennadi Sapunow , USSR;
• 1967, 13th place , World Cup in Bucharest , GR, Le, with a victory over Kurt Madsen, Denmark and defeats to Martti Poikkala and Ion Enache, Romania;
• 1968, 12th place , EM in Västerås , GR, Le, with a victory over Finlay Buchanan, Great Britain and defeats against Klaus Pohl and Ion Enache

International battles

• 1963, FRG against Bulgaria , GR, Le, point defeat against Dimitrov,
• 1963, FRG against Sweden , GR, Le, draw against Andersson,
• 1963, FRG against Denmark , GR, Le, point winner over Erik Thomsen,
• 1964, FRG against France, GR, Le, points winner over Daniel Robin ,
• 1965, FRG against USSR, GR, Le, point defeat against Markow

German championships

• 1957, 1st place, GR, Fe, ahead of Suha Karman , Munich- Neuaubing and Berni Bergmann, Aschaffenburg-Damm,
• 1958, 1st place, GR, Fe, ahead of Erwin Schuster, Faurndau and Berni Bergmann,
• 1958, 3rd place, F, Le, behind Gerhard Füglein, Nuremberg and Karl Scherm , Munich-Neuaubing,
• 1961, 1st place, GR, Le, in front of Edmund Seger , Freiburg-St.Georgen and Harro Häßler, Tuttlingen,
• 1962, 2nd place, GR, Le, behind Gottlieb Neumair , Munich-Neuaubing and in front of Edgar Kaufmann, Thaleischweiler ,
• 1962, 1st place, F, Le, before Horst Bergmann , Lichtenfels and Edmund Seger,
• 1963, 3rd place, GR, le, behind Klaus Rost , Witten - Annen and Gottlieb Neumair,
• 1964, 1st place, GR, Le, before Klaus Rost and Karl-Heinz Schlopsnies, Witten,
• 1965, 1st place, GR, le, in front of Klaus Rost and Edmund Seger,
• 1966, 2nd place, GR, Le, behind Klaus Rost and in front of Gottfried Liebl, SC Armin Munich,
• 1967, 2nd place, GR, Le, behind Klaus Rost and in front of Jürgen Magin, Friesenheim ,
• 1967, 3rd place, F, Le, behind Helmut Vogl, Freising and Günter Niedermaier, Hallbergmoos ,
• 1968, 1st place, GR, Le, before Klaus Rost and Manfred Schöndorfer , Bad Reichenhall ,
• 1968, 3rd place, F, Le, behind Klaus Rost and Helmut Hölker, Dortmund

swell

• various issues of the specialist magazine " Athletik " from 1955 to 1973,
• Yearbook of the German Wrestling Federation 1972, "Athletik" publishing house, Karlsruhe 1972,
• Documentation of FILA's International Wrestling Championships, 1976

Web links

• Franz Schmitt in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )