Frank Josef Kriz (March 26, 1894 – January 11, 1955) was an American gymnast and Olympic champion.[1] A was a member of the New York Sokol and the Bohemian Gymnastic Association. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and competed in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Summer Olympics.[2] In 1924, he received a gold medal in vault.[3] In 1922 and 1924, he won the Amateur Athletic Union national gymnastics title.[4][5] In 1959, he was one of the initial inductees to the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[6]
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| Full name | Frank Josef Kriz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | March 26, 1894 Manhattan, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | January 11, 1955 (aged 60) Manhattan, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gym | Bohemian Gymnastic Association | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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As a gymnast, Kriz was a member of the Bohemian Gymnastic Association.[7] He worked as a fireman for Hook and Ladder 154 of the New York City Fire Department and required leave to participate in the Olympics.[8] He received special approval, along with Bob McAllister, to make the trip to compete in the 1928 Summer Olympics.[8]
Kriz was the very first U.S. gymnast, male or female, to win a medal of any sort at a Summer Olympic Games or World Championships on foreign soil, and would remain the only one to win any medal at those such games on foreign soil for nearly half a century until Cathy Rigby won a silver on balance beam at the 1970 World Championships in Ljubljana and Peter Kormann won a bronze medal on floor exercise at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympic Games.
References
edit- ^ "Frank Kriz". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ "Sokol New York History". Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "1924 Summer Olympics – Paris, France – Gymnastics" Archived 2007-08-19 at the Wayback Machine databaseOlympics.com (Retrieved on March 26, 2008)
- ^ New York Times, Kriz Wins National Gymnastics Title, April 22, 1922
- ^ "Frank Kriz Biography and Olympic Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Two Title Holders Beaten in Amateur Gymnastic Tourney". New-York Tribune. November 24, 1921. p. 17. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ a b "M'Allister and Kriz Olympic Starters". Brooklyn Daily Times. July 14, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
External links
edit- Frank Kriz at the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame
- Frank Kriz at Olympics.com
- Frank Kriz at Olympedia
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