Abraham Kurland
| Personal information | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | June 10, 1912 | ||||||
| Died | March 14, 1999 (aged 86) | ||||||
Medal record
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Abraham Kurland (June 10, 1912 – March 14, 1999) was a Danish wrestler.[1]
Kurland was Jewish, and was born in Odense, Syddanmark, Denmark.[1][2] He was affiliated with the Hakoah Jewish Sports club, København/Bagsværd, København.[2][3]
He won a silver medal in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, after being narrowly defeated for the gold medal.[1][4]
He was the favorite to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics, but declined to participate because it was taking place in Nazi Germany.[3][4] The Danish Olympic Committee had been afraid that he might win, which would "embarrass Denmark."[3] Kurland and his brother left Denmark in 1943 for Sweden, along with much of the Danish Jewish community.[3] They returned at the end of World War II.[3] In the 1948 games Kurland participated, but he was then 45 years old and past his prime.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Paul Taylor (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: the clash between sport and politics: with a complete review of Jewish Olympic medalists. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Abraham Kurland Biography and Olympic Results". Sports-reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Norman Berdichevsky. "The Golden Calf Idols of the World Cup, The Olympics, and What Happened in Berlin, 1936". Newenglishreview.org. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sidonie Smith (2000). The Olympics at the millennium: power, politics, and the games. Retrieved October 18, 2011.