Josef Urban (wrestler, 1899)

Josef Urban

Josef Urban (born June 17, 1899 in Prague , † September 2, 1968 ) was a Czechoslovakian wrestler .

Career

Josef Urban started wrestling in Prague. Shortly after the First World War , he joined the police and started for the police sports club ("AFK Stráže bezpečnosti") in Prague, before he had started for the athletes' club "Nusle" Prague. In the mid-1920s he was the best Czechoslovakian heavyweight wrestler in the Greco-Roman style. In 1925 he won the Czechoslovak heavyweight championship for the first time and made his debut at an international championship at the European championship in 1926 in Riga . Behind the German champion Georg Gehring he finished second and was at least ahead of the Swedish champion Johan Richthoff .

A year later, at the European Championships in Budapest in 1927 , Josef Urban won a medal. He came in third place. At the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 he won three times. But these victories were only enough for 5th place, as he was, somewhat unexpectedly, defeated by the Austrian Eugen Wiesberger. The second defeat in this tournament against the Swede Rudolf Svensson was as expected.

He also lost to Svensson at the European Championships in Dortmund in 1929 . But he still achieved 3rd place with three wins. It was not enough for him to win a medal at the European Championships in Stockholm in 1930 . After defeats against Georg Gehring and Johan Richthoff, he ended up in 4th place. Even at the European Championships in 1931 in his native Prague, Josef Urban did not get into the medal ranks.

The greatest success of his career he achieved in 1932 at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles . With a surprising victory over the German Georg Gehring, who had previously defeated the Swedish favorite Carl Westergren , he won the silver medal and caused Gehring to fall from the alleged Olympic champion to 4th place. After this tournament, Josef Urban did not start at any other international championships.

International success

(OS = Olympic Games, EM = European Championship, GR = Greco-Roman style, S = heavyweight, then over 87 kg body weight)

• 1926, 2nd place , EM in Riga , GR, S, with victories over Otto Pohla , Estonia and Alberts Zvejnieks , Latvia and a defeat against Georg Gehring , Germany ;
• 1927, 3rd place , EM in Budapest , GR, S, with victories over Marian Cieniewski , Poland , Djuro Krin, Yugoslavia and Willi Müller , Germany and defeats against Johan Richthoff , Sweden and Raymund Badó , Hungary ;
• 1928, 5th place , OS in Amsterdam , Gr, S, with victories over Gustave Colpaert, Belgium , Aleardo Donati , Italy and J. Simons, Netherlands and defeats to Eugen Wiesberger , Austria and Rudolf Svensson , Sweden;
• 1929, 2nd place , International Czechoslovak Championship in Prague, GR, S, behind Nikolaus Hirschl , Austria and ahead of Riedmüller, Austria;
• 1929, 3rd place , EM in Dortmund , GR, S, with victories over Alberts Zvejnieks, Ottó Szelky , Hungary and K. Wierzbicki, Poland and a defeat against Rudolf Svensson;
• 1929, 1st place , International Championship of Moravia and Silesia in Brno , GR, S, ahead of Kubalík, Czechoslovakia and Fülöp, Hungary;
• 1930, 4th place , EM in Stockholm , GR, S, with victory over Otto Viikberg , Estonia and defeats against Georg Gehring and Johan Richthoff;
• 1930, 2nd place , intern. Tournament in Strasbourg , GR, S, behind Georg Gehring u. before Leon Charlier , Belgium ;
• 1931, 5th place , EM in Prague, GR, S, with victory over Alberts Zvejnieks and defeats against Carl Westergren , Sweden and Hjalmar Nyström , Finland;
• 1931, 2nd place , intern. Czechoslovak Championship in Raudnitz an der Elbe , GR, S, behind Josef Klapuch , Czechoslovakia a . before Bruno Mosig, Germany;
• 1932, silver medal , OS in Los Angeles , GR, S, with victories over Aleardo Donati and Georg Gehring and one defeat against Carl Westergren;
• 1934, 2nd place , intern. Tournament in Prague , GR, S, behind Josef Klapuch u. in front of John Nyman , Sweden

Most important international battles

• 1929, Prague, Czechoslovakia versus Denmark , shoulder winner over Emil Larsen ,
• 1930, Prague, Czechoslovakia against Germany, point defeat against Willi Müller ,
• 1932, Nuremberg, Germany against Czechoslovakia, point defeat against Georg Gehring

swell

• 1) Professional journals Athletics , Nos. 37/1929 and 49/1929
• 2) Yearbook of the German Wrestling Association 1972, Athletik-Verlag, Karlsruhe, 1972
• 3) International Wrestling Database of the University of Leipzig
• 4) DOCUMENTATION of FILA International Wrestling Championships, 1976

Web links

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