Hope Brings Healthy Athletes, Honest Efforts

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Monday) to three Olympic champions we shall call "S", "G", and "C".

"S" and "G" were born on the same continent and "S" was five years old when "G" was born.

Our three champions competed in a total of six Olympic Games (five of those six were held in Europe) and won a total of three Olympic gold medals.

Both "G" and "C" died on a Saturday in January.

It has been a total of 311 years since these three athletes were born.

Athlete "G" was three years old when "C" was born.

One of our birthday people was a fireman, one was a lawman, and the third was a very good handball player.

You might know that Athlete "S" competed in the same event at three consecutive Olympics and that Athlete "C" died 17 days before turning 95.

Can you name our three Olympians (without using any research) on this penultimate Monday of January?

Give it a try and good luck.

[Olli]

Horace Ashenfelter.

[DoubleRBar]

Horace Ashenfelter was born in Pennsylvania 100 year ago today. Nice going, Olli.

Horace Ashenfelter was famous for winning the steeplechase at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Sometimes people may forget that his brother also ran the steeplechase in Helsinki (1952). Horace had joined the FBI in 1951. He ran the steeplechase at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but he did not make that final.

Horace Ashenfelter was 94 years old when he died in New Jersey on the third Saturday of 2018.

Thank you, Olli.

[bambam1729]

Didn't check anything else, but HB - I'll try Harry Babcock

[DoubleRBar]

Good guess, bambam1729, however Harry Babcock was born about 25 years before our birthday athlete (Athlete "S"). Harry Babcock competed in only one Olympics (1912) and Athlete "S" competed in three consecutive Olympic Games. I can tell you that Athlete "S" and Harry Babcock were not born in the same continent, however I can also tell you that they both won Olympic gold medals in a field event, but not the same field event.

[noone]

Herma Bauma. She played on the Austrian national handball team.

[DoubleRBar]

Herma Bauma was born in Austria 108 years ago yesterday (Monday). Very well done, noone.

Herma Bauma competed in three consecutive Olympics in the women's javelin. She was fourth place in the javelin at her first Olympics (1936 Berlin),. She won the Olympic gold medal in the javelin at the 1948 London Olympics. She was 33 when winning that Olympic gold medal. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Bauma placed ninth in the women's javelin.

Like noone said, she was a very good handball player. She died in Austria on the second Sunday of February in 2003. She was 88 years old.

Thank you noone and bambam1729.

[Davidokun]

Which leaves Athlete "G":

• Born in Europe in 1920
• Initials HE
• Competed in only one Games, which was held in Europe, probably in 1948 or 1952
• Won one gold medal
• Fireman, so likely male

[LopenUupunut]

Henry Eriksson?

[DoubleRBar]

Henry Eriksson was born in Sweden 103 years ago yesterday (Monday). Nice job, LopenUupunut.

Henry Eriksson was a fireman and a very good runner. He won the 1,500 at the 1948 London Olympic Games at the age of 28.

Eriksson died 15 days before his 80th birthday in Sweden.

Thank you, LopenUupunut and Davidokun.

[noone]

A propos Herma Baums: Her bio on the German Wikipedia page implies that she had a career in sports administration after she retired from handball and javelin throwing. But an acquaintance of mine told me that when he was hospitalized In Vienna he chatted with a cleaning lady who was washing the floor. She said she was Herma Bauma and they had a conversation about her athletic career. There is nothing wrong with being a janitor of course, but the official biography doesn’t mention this job. Other interesting facts about Bauma:

She is still the only Austrian T&F gold medalist; she joined the nazi party in 1943; yet she had a relationship (both before and after WW) with a Jewish teammate who spent the war years in France; after the war she switched sides and was active in the tiny Austrian communist party; she was supposedly told that a track and field facility that was being built near Vienna would be named after her but in fact it was named Brigitte Prokop Center (I am too lazy to look it up, but I believe Prokop got silver in the pentathlon in Mexico.)

[Davidokun]

...she was supposedly told that a track and field facility that was being built near Vienna would be named after her but in fact it was named Brigitte Prokop Center (I am too lazy to look it up, but I believe Prokop got silver in the pentathlon in Mexico.)

Indeed, Liese Prokop won the pentathlon silver medal in 1968:

https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/64862

The sports center:

https://www.sportzentrum-noe.at/en/30-ueber-uns/sportexponate/112-liese-prokop

[DoubleRBar]

Thank you, noone and Davidokun. Very interesting.

[DET59]

Thank you, noone and Davidokun. Very interesting.

Double, I'm still trying to figure out the "honest efforts" part of the clues.... does it have something to do with "honest effort" rules that disqualify an athlete from further competing in a meet when they don't make an effort in an event?

[DoubleRBar]

"Honest Efforts" = Henry Eriksson.

"Hope Brings" = Herma Baums

"Healthy Athletes" = Horace Ashenfelter