Germany

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics

1896 Summer Olympics

The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Athens, Greece, from April 6 to April 15, 1896. It was the first international Olympic Games held in the Modern era...

in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.
The Germans were the third most successful nation in terms of both gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

s (6 plus 1 as part of a mixed team) and total medals (13). Gymnastics was the sport in which Germany excelled. The German team had 19 athletes. The Germans had 75 entries in 26 events (of which 48 entries were in the 8 gymnastics events), taking 13 medals.

Gold

• Alfred Flatow
  Alfred Flatow
  Alfred Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was Jewish....
  
   - gymnastics, parallel bars
• Carl Schuhmann
  Carl Schuhmann
  Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era...
  
   - gymnastics, vault
• Carl Schuhmann - wrestling, Greco-Roman
• Hermann Weingärtner
  Hermann Weingärtner
  Hermann Weingärtner was a German gymnast.He was born and died in Frankfurt .He started his career in his hometown at the local gymnastics club Frankfurter Turnverein 1860. Later on he moved to Berlin to compete for the Deutsche Turnerschaft.He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens...
  
   - gymnastics, horizontal bar
• Fritz Hofmann (team leader), Konrad Böcker
  Konrad Böcker
  Conrad Böcker was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Böcker had little success in individual events. He competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar, vault, pommel horse, and rings events...
  
  , Alfred Flatow, Gustav Flatow
  Gustav Flatow
  Gustav Felix Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris....
  
  , Georg Hillmar
  Georg Hillmar
  Georg Hillmar was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Hillmar won two gold medals as a member of the German team that won both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He had less success in the individual events, contesting the parallel bars,...
  
  , Fritz Manteuffel
  Fritz Manteuffel
  Fritz Manteuffel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Manteuffel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar...
  
  , Karl Neukirch
  Karl Neukirch
  Karl Neukirch was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Neukirch was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar...
  
  , Richard Röstel
  Richard Röstel
  Richard Röstel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Röstel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He also competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar,...
  
  , Gustav Schuft
  Gustav Schuft
  Gustav Schuft was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Schuft was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar...
  
  , Carl Schuhmann, and Hermann Weingärtner - gymnastics, team parallel bars
• Fritz Hofmann (team leader), Konrad Böcker, Alfred Flatow, Gustav Flatow, Georg Hillmar, Fritz Manteuffel, Karl Neukirch, Richard Röstel, Gustav Schuft, Carl Schuhmann, and Hermann Weingärtner - gymnastics, team horizontal bar

Silver

• Alfred Flatow - gymnastics, horizontal bar
• August von Gödrich
  August von Gödrich
  August von Gödrich was a German racing cyclist. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....
  
   - cycling, road race
• Fritz Hofmann - athletics, 100 metres
• Hermann Weingärtner - gymnastics, pommel horse
• Hermann Weingärtner - gymnastics, rings

Athletics

Hofmann's silver medal in the 100 metres was the only medal earned by the German athletes, though they finished 4th or 5th an additional 4 times.

Event	Place	Athlete	Heat	Final
100 metres	2nd	Fritz Hofmann	Unknown	12.2 seconds
	–	Friedrich Traun Friedrich Traun Friedrich Adolph Traun was a German athlete and tennis player.He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens — the first modern Olympic games...	Unknown	Did not advance
		Kurt Dörry Kurt Dörry Kurt Doerry was a German track and field athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Doerry placed fifth in his preliminary heat of the 100 metres and did not advance to the final....	Unknown
400 metres	4th	Fritz Hofmann	58.6 seconds	Unknown
	–	Kurt Dörry	Unknown	Did not advance
800 metres	–	Friedrich Traun	Unknown	Did not advance
1500 metres	4th	Karl Galle Karl Galle Carl Galle was a German athlete. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Galle competed in the 1500 metres. The race was run in a single heat. Galle finished fourth, behind Edwin Flack , Arthur Blake , and Albin Lermusiaux .-External links:*...	No heats	4:39.0
110 metre hurdles	–	Kurt Dörry	Unknown	Did not advance

Event	Place	Athlete	Best mark
Long jump	–	Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era...	Unknown
Triple jump	5th	Carl Schuhmann	Unknown
	–	Fritz Hofmann	Unknown
High jump	5th	Fritz Hofmann	1.55 metres
Shot put	–	Fritz Hofmann	Unknown
		Carl Schuhmann	Unknown

Cycling

Germany's only cycling medal came in the long-distance road race.

Event	Place	Cyclist	Time/Distance
333 metres	5th	Theodor Leupold Theodor Leupold Theodor Leupold was a German racing cyclist from Zittau. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Leupold competed in the 333 metres and 100 kilometres races. He tied with two other cyclists for fifth place in the 333 metres at 27.0 seconds and was among the seven cyclists that did not...	27.0 seconds
	8th	Joseph Rosemeyer Joseph Rosemeyer Joseph Rosemeyer , was a German track cyclist. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	27.2 seconds
2 kilometres	–	Joseph Rosemeyer	Did not finish
10 kilometres	4th	Joseph Rosemeyer	Unknown
100 kilometres	–	Bernhard Knubel	Did not finish
		Theodor Leupold	Did not finish
		Joseph Rosemeyer	Did not finish
		Joseph Welzenbacher Joseph Welzenbacher Joseph Welzenbacher was a German cyclist from Munich. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Welzenbacher entered the 100 kilometres and the 12 hours races. He did not finish either....	Did not finish
12 hour race	–	Joseph Welzenbacher	Did not finish
Road race	2nd	August von Gödrich August von Gödrich August von Gödrich was a German racing cyclist. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens....	3:42:18

Gymnastics

Germany dominated the gymnastics program, taking 5 of the 8 gold medals and medalling in each event.

Event	Place	Gymnast
Parallel bars	1st	Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow Alfred Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was Jewish....
	–	Konrad Böcker Konrad Böcker Conrad Böcker was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Böcker had little success in individual events. He competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar, vault, pommel horse, and rings events...
		Gustav Flatow Gustav Flatow Gustav Felix Flatow was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris....
		Georg Hillmar Georg Hillmar Georg Hillmar was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Hillmar won two gold medals as a member of the German team that won both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He had less success in the individual events, contesting the parallel bars,...
		Fritz Manteuffel Fritz Manteuffel Fritz Manteuffel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Manteuffel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar...
		Karl Neukirch Karl Neukirch Karl Neukirch was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Neukirch was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar...
		Richard Röstel Richard Röstel Richard Röstel was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Röstel was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. He also competed in the parallel bars, horizontal bar,...
		Gustav Schuft Gustav Schuft Gustav Schuft was a German gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.Schuft was a member of the German team that won two gold medals by placing first in both of the team events, the parallel bars and the horizontal bar...
		Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era...
		Hermann Weingärtner Hermann Weingärtner Hermann Weingärtner was a German gymnast.He was born and died in Frankfurt .He started his career in his hometown at the local gymnastics club Frankfurter Turnverein 1860. Later on he moved to Berlin to compete for the Deutsche Turnerschaft.He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens...
Horizontal bar	1st	Hermann Weingärtner
	2nd	Alfred Flatow
	–	Konrad Böcker
		Gustav Flatow
		Georg Hillmar
		Fritz Manteuffel
		Karl Neukirch
		Richard Röstel
		Gustav Schuft
		Carl Schuhmann
Vault	1st	Carl Schuhmann
	3rd	Hermann Weingärtner
	–	Konrad Böcker
		Alfred Flatow
		Gustav Flatow
		Georg Hillmar
		Fritz Manteuffel
		Karl Neukirch
		Richard Röstel
		Gustav Schuft
Pommel horse	2nd	Hermann Weingärtner
	–	Konrad Böcker
		Alfred Flatow
		Gustav Flatow
		Georg Hillmar
		Fritz Manteuffel
		Karl Neukirch
		Richard Röstel
		Gustav Schuft
		Carl Schuhmann
Rings	2nd	Hermann Weingärtner
	5th	Carl Schuhmann
	–	Konrad Böcker
		Alfred Flatow
		Gustav Flatow

Event	Place	Gymnast	Height
Rope climbing	3rd	Fritz Hofmann	12.5 metres

Event	Place	Team
Team parallel bars	1st	Germany
Team horizontal bar	1st	Germany

Tennis

Traun was defeated by Boland in the first round of the singles tournament. The two entered the doubles tournament as a pair, winning the gold medal in that competition as part of a mixed team

Mixed team at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Early Olympic Games allowed for individuals in a team to be from different nations. The International Olympic Committee now groups their results together under the mixed team designation...

; that medal is not counted for Germany.

Event	Place	Player(s)	Round 1	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
Singles	8th	Friedrich Traun Friedrich Traun Friedrich Adolph Traun was a German athlete and tennis player.He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens — the first modern Olympic games...	Lost	Did not advance
Doubles	1st	Friedrich Traun and	–	Won	Bye	Won

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
	2	0	1.000
	0	1	0.000
Total	2	1	0.667

Weightlifting

Schuhmann's lift was equal to that of the bronze medallist, but lifting form was used as a tie-breaker in the event.

Event	Place	Weightlifter	Best lift
Two handed	4th	Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era...	90.0 kilograms

Wrestling

Schuhmann first faced Launceston Elliot

Launceston Elliot

Launceston Elliot was a Scottish weightlifter. He was the first British Olympic champion.Launceston Elliot was born in India. His family was an established part of the Scottish aristocracy with Lord Minto being head of the family which had strong connections with India. The 4th Earl Minto served...

, the one-handed lift weightlifting champion, defeating him fairly easily. He received a bye in the semifinals, to face Georgios Tsitas

Georgios Tsitas

Georgios Tsitas was a Greek wrestler. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.In the first round of the wrestling competition, held in a roughly Greco-Roman format, Tsitas had a bye to guarantee a top three finish before he even had a match. The semifinal pitted Tsitas against fellow...

 in the final match. That contest took two days, after it had been postponed on account of darkness 40 minutes into the first day. Schuhmann quickly won on the second morning.

Event	Place	Wrestler	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
Greco-Roman	1st	Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann Carl Schuhmann was a German athlete, who was born in Münster and won four Olympic titles in gymnastics and wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, becoming the most successful athlete at the inaugural Olympics of the modern era...	Won	Bye	Won

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Great Britain	1	0	1.000
Greece Greece at the 1896 Summer Olympics Greece was the host nation of the 1896 Summer Olympics held in Athens. The number of Greek contestants is commonly cited as 169, but as many as 176 Greeks contested events in all nine sports. The Greeks were by far the most successful nation in terms of total medals with 46, 26 more than the...	1	0	1.000
Total	2	0	1.000