Jean Földeák

Jean Földeák medal table
Wrestler
Germany
Olympic games
silver	1932 Los Angeles	Means Greco
European Championship
bronze	1930 Stockholm	Welter Greco
gold	1931 Budapest	World freestyle
silver	1933 Helsinki	Means Greco
gold	1933 Paris	World freestyle
gold	1934 Stockholm	World freestyle

Jean Földeák (born June 9, 1903 in Hitiaş , Timiş County , then Hungary , now Romania ; † May 5, 1993 ) was a German wrestler.

Career

Jean Földeak grew up in Hungary, went to the wrestlers and learned to be a locksmith. In 1924 he wanted to emigrate to the USA , but did not receive a visa and stayed in Hamburg , where he rejoined a wrestling club. In 1927 he received German citizenship . As early as 1926 he attracted attention in the German wrestling world by defeating European champion Fritz Bräun , Kreuznach . From 1927 he successfully participated in German and from 1929 also in international championships. He was the first German wrestler ever to take part in international championships for amateurs in freestyle wrestling and was also very successful. In 1932 he took part in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles . In his favorite discipline, freestyle wrestling, he failed in the welterweight division against a US wrestler and only finished 4th. He then started spontaneously in the Greco-Roman style, but since he had increased in the meantime and the limit for the welterweight no longer brought, compete in the middleweight division. He managed the feat of winning the silver medal behind the Finn Väinö Kokkinen . In 1935 he ended his active career. He became Reichstrainer for wrestling, went to Poland after differences with German officials , returned, became Reichstrainer again and was national coach until 1966 after the Second World War . After 1945 he founded a company in Munich for the production of wrestling mats and training equipment for wrestling, which is still a market leader today.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, F = freestyle, We = welterweight, Wed = middleweight, back then up to 73 kg or 79 kg body weight)

• 1929 4th place , European Championships in Dortmund , GR, Wed, with victories over Kavals, Latvia , van der Sipp, France and defeats against Väinö Kokkinen , Finland and József Tunyogi , Hungary ;
• 1929, 2nd place , intern. Tournament in Copenhagen , GR, We, behind Tresdorf Jörgensen u. before Peter Andersen, bde. Denmark;
• 1930 3rd place , EM in Stockholm , GR, We, with victories over Nilsen, Norway , Askehave, Denmark , Bergström, Sweden and defeats against Zombori, Hungary and Mikko Nordling , Finland;
• 1931 1st place , EM in Budapest , F, We, with victories over Hermann Gehri , Switzerland , Fidel, Italy , Roosen, Belgium and Zombori;
• 1931, 2nd place , intern. Tournament in Gothenburg , GR, We, behind Erik Malmberg , Sweden a. before Björkman, Sweden;
• 1931, 1st place , intern. Tournament in Malmö , GR, Wed, before Kukk, Estonia a. Days Assarsson, Sweden;
• 1931. 1st place , intern. Tournament in Norrköping , GR, We, before Lindblom u. E. Petterssen, Sweden;
• 1932 4th place , OS in Los Angeles , F, We, with wins against Lindblom, Sweden, Jensen, Denmark and one loss against Daniel Mac Donald , Canada ;
• 1932 silver medal , OS in Los Angeles, GR, Wed, with victory over Axel Cadier , Sweden and defeat against Kokkinen;
• 1933 2nd place , EM in Helsinki , GR, Wed, with victories over Edvard Westerlund , Finland, Karl Kullisaar , Estonia and defeat against Cadier;
• 1933 1st place , EM in Paris , F, We, with victories over Bukovac, Yugoslavia , Arnaud, France, Tasnady, Hungary and Hans Minder , Switzerland;
• 1934 1st place , EM in Stockholm, F, We, with victories over Károly Kárpáti , Hungary. Arvi Pihlajamäki , Finland and Ture Andersson , Sweden;

In seven international matches, he wins five times for Germany.

Success at German championships

• 1927 2nd place in Nuremberg , gr, Wed, behind Hermann Simon , Koblenz ;
• 1928 2nd place in Koblenz, gr, Wed, behind Eduard Krämer , Duisburg and in front of Fritz Bräun , Kreuznach;
• 1929 1st place in Villingen , gr, We, ahead of Josef Hamper , Nuremberg ;
• 1930 1st place in Breslau , fr, We, ahead of Hermann Simon;
• 1931 2nd place in Schonungen, gr, We, behind Oswald Möchel , Cologne ;
• 1932 3rd place in Dortmund, gr, We, behind Möchel and Eugen Häßler , Tuttlingen

Web links

• Profile of Jean Földeák at the Institute for Applied Training Science
• Jean Földeák in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )