Gerald Leeman
Gerald Grant "Germ" Leeman (born June 22, 1922 in Little Cedar , Iowa , † October 10, 2008 in Cedar Falls , Iowa) was an American wrestler . He won a silver medal in free style bantamweight at the 1948 London Olympics .
Life
Leeman attended high school in Osage, Iowa. During that time he was coached by "Mitch" Mitchell and won three Iowa high school championships in 1939, 1940 and 1941. In 1940 he became the American bantamweight champion (AAU champion) in free style. After high school, he attended Iowa State Teachers College, from which the University of Northern Iowa emerged . He was trained there by Dave McCuskey.
During World War II , Gerald Leeman served as a pilot in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1945 .
After the war he continued his wrestling career and was 1946 NCAA champion (American student champion) in free style in the bantamweight.
In 1948 he qualified for participation in the Olympic Games in London. He wrestled bantamweight there in free style. He defeated N. Bose, India, Raymond Cazaux, Great Britain, Lajos Bencze, Hungary, Charles Kouyos, France and Joseph Trimpont, Belgium in London. In the final battle he was defeated by Nasuh Akar from Turkey and won the silver medal.
Gerald Leeman then became a very successful wrestling coach, first at Fort Dodge High School (1949 to 1951) and then from 1952 to 1970 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania).
In his retirement he lived in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
International success
| year | space | competition | style | Weight class | Results |
| 1948 | silver | OS in London | Freestyle | Bantam | after victories over N. Bose, India, Raymond Cazaux, Great Britain, Lajos Bencze , Hungary, Charles Kouyos , France and Joseph Trimpont, Belgium and a defeat against Nasuh Akar , Turkey |
- Explanations
- Bantam weight: weight class, back then up to 57 kg body weight
- OS = Olympic Games
literature
- FILA DOCUMENTATION of International Wrestling Championships 1896 to 1976.
Web links
- Profile of Gerald Leeman at the Institute for Applied Training Science
- Gerald Leeman in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leeman, Gerald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leeman, Gerald Grant (full name); Leeman, Germ (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American wrestler |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 22, 1922 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Little Cedar |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 10, 2008 |
| Place of death | Cedar Falls |