Gottfried Kottmann
Personal information
Birth nameGottfried Kottmann
Born15 October 1932
Zürich
Died6 November 1964(1964-11-06) (aged 32)
Rüdlingen
Sport
SportRowing
Bobsledding
Medal record
Representing  Switzerland
Men's rowing
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1964 Tokyo Single sculls
European Rowing Championships
Gold medal – first place 1954 Amsterdam Coxed pair
Gold medal – first place 1955 Ghent Coxed pair
Silver medal – second place 1956 Bled Coxed pair
Bronze medal – third place 1957 Duisburg Coxed four
Bronze medal – third place 1958 Poznań Coxed pair
Gold medal – first place 1959 Mâcon Coxless four
Men's bobsleigh
World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Cortina d'Ampezzo Four-man

Gottfried "Göpf" Kottmann (15 October 1932 – 6 November 1964) was a Swiss rower and bobsledder who competed from the mid-1950s until his death by drowning shortly after his second Olympic appearance in 1964.

Rowing

Kottmann, born 1932 in Zürich, started rowing aged 13 with Belvoir Ruderclub in his home city.[1] For several years, he rowed with Rolf Streuli and various coxswains in the coxed pair event. They won the European Rowing Championships in 1954 in Amsterdam, in 1955 in Ghent, and came second in 1956 in Bled.[2] They had qualified for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne but Switzerland was one of four countries to boycott the Games over the Soviet invasion of Hungary.[1] At the 1958 European Rowing Championships in Poznań, Kottmann and Streuli won bronze.[2]

At the 1959 European Rowing Championships in Mâcon, Kottmann won a gold medal in the coxless four event.[3] Two of the four rowers remained part of the coxless four that went to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where they came sixth.[4] At the 1964 European Rowing Championships in Amsterdam, he competed in single sculls and came in sixth place.[5] Two months later competing at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he won a bronze medal in the single sculls event.[1]

Bobsledding

Kottmann won a bronze medal in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 1960 FIBT World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo.[6]

Death

He drowned in the Rhine at Rüdlingen while taking part in a military exercise as a diver.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Göpf Kottmann". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b Heckert, Karlheinz. "Rudern – Europameisterschaften (Herren – Zweier m. Stm.)" (in German). Sport Komplett. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  3. ^ Heckert, Karlheinz. "Rudern – Europameisterschaften (Herren – Vierer o.Stm.)" (in German). Sport Komplett. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Switzerland Rowing at the 1960 Roma Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Bergau/Gorny Europameister im Zweier m. St. in Amsterdam". Neues Deutschland (in German). Vol. 19, no. 219. 10 August 1964. p. 3. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  6. ^ Bobsleigh four-man world championship medalists since 1930
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