Julius Lenhart

Julius Lenhart ( born November 27, 1875 in Vienna, † November 10, 1962 ibid ) was a gymnast and first double Olympic champion and so far the most successful Olympian of Austria in the Summer Games.

His first training was given Lenhart in Vienna, but soon he moved into the distance; among other things, to Munich and Switzerland, where he started for different clubs. In 1903 he went to Philadelphia, where he worked in a machine shop.

From the local " German gymnastics community," he was sent in 1904 to the Olympic Games in St. Louis. There, he won two gold and one silver medal. A gold medal he won in the individual all-around, the other in the multi-discipline teams ( together with Philip Kassel, Anton Heida, Max Hess, Ernst Reckeweg and John Grieb ) with 374.43 points and the turn - Nine fight the silver medal. ( In this last coin is the name of the discipline in the various sources are not identical ), although he shortly afterwards returned to Austria, were his successes in the home is not observed; the medals were listed as the long time for the United States, though he never had the American citizenship: As in gymnastics in St. Louis only club participants were admitted, he was seen for Philadelphia as Americans. In 1936, he complained of being counted as Austrians.

In 1908 he retired from active competitive sports and working in his profession as a mechanical engineer. Only after his death in 1962, Lenhart was recognized accordingly in Austria and adjusted the statistics.