Alfred Guth

Alfred Guth
Alfred Guth in 1934
Personal information
Born(1908-07-27)27 July 1908
Vienna, Austria[1]
Died13 November 1996(1996-11-13) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Sport
SportModern pentathlon, swimming
ClubHakoah, Vienna
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Austria
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place 1932 Mandatory Palestine 1,500m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1932 Mandatory Palestine 400m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1932 Mandatory Palestine 4x200m freestyle

Alfred Guth (27 July 1908 – 13 November 1996) was an Austrian water polo player, swimmer, and modern pentathlete. At the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, in swimming he won a gold medal and two silver medals. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon. A Holocaust survivor, he emigrated to the United States after WWII, competed in Masters swimming, and established 41 U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records.

Biography

Austria

In 1924 and 1925, swimming for the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna, Guth won the Quer Durch Wien (“Across Vienna”) 7.5 km race in the Danube.[2][3]

Guth competed for Austria at the 1927 Men's Water Polo European Championship in Bologna, Italy, in which the team came in 6th.[4]

Guth competed in swimming at the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine.[5] He won a gold medal in the 1,500m freestyle, a silver medal in the 400m freestyle, and a silver medal as part of Team Austria in the 4x200m freestyle.[5]

He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon.[6][7] Guth placed highest in swimming, where he came in 5th, ahead of all three medalists.[8]

United States

Guth was a Holocaust survivor, and emigrated to the United States.[9]

In the US, Guth lived in San Pedro, California, and competed in Masters swimming.[10][11] He established 28 individual and 13 relay U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records between 1972 and 1987.[12] He was a Masters All American in 1974 and 1977 (65-69), 1978-79 and 1981-83 (70-74), 1983-87 (75-79), and 1988-89 (80-84).[11]

References

  1. ^ "Great Olympians - biographies - GUT". www.hermandw.be.
  2. ^ "A Film of Inspiration and Passion". kipdf.com.
  3. ^ ""DANUBE FOOTBALL" – VIENNA'S IDENTIFICATION WITH FOOTBALL – AND THE "DANUBE MAIDENS" – VIENNA'S FEMALE SWIMMING CHAMPIONS (until 1938) – Central European Economic and Social History".
  4. ^ "Men Water Polo European Championship 1927 Bologna (ITA) - 31.08-05.09 Winner Hungary". www.todor66.com.
  5. ^ a b "Maccabiah Games before World War II". sport-record.de.
  6. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alfred Guth". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  7. ^ "Alfred Guth," Olympics.com.
  8. ^ "1936 Summer Olympics-the results modern pentathlon," sport-olympic.gr.
  9. ^ "Holocaust Survivors and Victims Database -- Alfred Guth". ushmm.org.
  10. ^ "Notebook: Mariners Seek Cagers for Orient Games". The Los Angeles Times. 7 May 1987.
  11. ^ a b "All-American Listings for Alfred Guth". www.usms.org.
  12. ^ "USMS National Records". usms.org.

External links