Otto Herschmann

Sport:
swimming, fencing

Country Represented:
Austria

Years Competed:
1896, 1912

Medals Received:
silver, bronze

Olympic Info:
Herschmann is one of only a few athletes to have won Olympic medals in different sports. He first competed at the 1896 Athens Games, the first modern Olympiad, and took the bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle (the first swimming event), which was won by Alfred Hajos.

Hershmann returned to Olympic competition at the 1912 Stockholm Games, competing as a member of Austria's fencing team. A sabre fencer, he won a silver medal in the team competition, and was eliminated in the first round of the individual event. When he won his medal in fencing, Herschmann was serving as President of the Austrian Olympic Committee. He is the only president of a National Olympic Committee to win a medal while holding the office. He is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Herschmann died in a concentration camp in Poland during the Holocaust.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Jan. 4, 1877 - d. June 14, 1942

Origin:
Vienna, Austria