Karl Hornberger (athlete)

Portrait of Karl-Anton Hornberger at the age of 74

Karl-Anton Hornberger (born March 30, 1900 in Kreuznach ; † May 29, 1988 ibid), called "Hombes", was a German long jumper who was active in the early 1920s.

In 1920 he won the title at the German Athletics Championships in Dresden , finishing 1921 in Hamburg the third and in Duisburg in 1922 second place.

He also jumped three German records:

• 7.19 m on June 27, 1920 in Koblenz. He improved Ernst Söllinger's one-year record by four centimeters.
• He increased his own record on July 4, 1920 in Bad Kreuznach to 7.24 m.
• 7.33 m on August 21, 1921 in Hamburg. This record was exceeded five years later by Rudolf Dobermann by three centimeters.

Karl-Anton Hornberger was a slender child with rickets. On medical advice, he trained his muscles daily at the mouth of the Ellerbach and was discovered by the coaches of TV Kreuznach as a long jump talent. In the summer of 1920 he could not take part in the Olympic Games in Antwerp, despite outstanding achievements, as German athletes were excluded due to the lost First World War. Olympic champion was William Petersson from Sweden with 7.15 m .

At the German Championships in Hamburg in 1921 he was unable to defend the title and was third with 7.11 m. He also lost the German record to Karl Dickel in the same year . He reported another jump as a record attempt at the jury. He jumped 7.33 m and won the German record back. Karl Hornberger led the national annual best lists from 1920 to 1922 until injuries set him back in the mid-1920s.

In recognition of his sporting merits, the Bad Kreuznach City Council renamed the previous Ellerbach Bridge to "Hombes-Briggelche" after his idol on October 27, 2016.

Karl-Anton Hornberger was 1.75 m tall and weighed 75 kg. He started for TV Kreuznach (today VfL 1848 Bad Kreuznach ). He is the father of the dialect poet Karl-Rudolf Hornberger from Kreuznach , who adopted the nickname "Hombes".

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} [1] , Sports Records - Men's Long Jump.
2. ↑ [2] , Athletics DGLD annual best list 1920.
3. ↑ [3] , Athletics DGLD annual best list 1921
4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Minutes City Council Bad Kreuznach.