Elias Katz

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Elias Katz

Katz (right) behind Paavo Nurmi and Oskari Rissanen in 1920
Medal record
Men’s
athletics
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1924 Paris
3000 metre team
Silver medal – second place 1924 Paris
3000 metre steeplechase

Elias Katz (22 June 1901 – 26 December 1947)[1] was a Finnish track and field athlete, who competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase.

Katz was born in Turku to a Jewish family.[2] He frequented local nightclubs, participated in dance marathons, and played soccer with the small Jewish sports club in Turku. While an amateur athlete, he worked as a shop assistant. When he was 18, Katz was invited to participate in a mid-distance race. After defeating the reigning champion, it was suggested to him to become a professional athlete. He began training in the main sports club of Turku, where he befriended the legendary Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, who helped Katz improve his technique.[3] He moved to Helsinki in 1921, where he joined the Jewish sports club Stjärnan, later Makkabi Helsinki. He ran two distances in the Finland-France competition in 1923 and became a candidate for the Finnish Olympic team.[4]

Katz competed for Finland in the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France in the 3000-meter steeple chase where he won the silver medal. He then joined with Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola to win the gold medal in the 3,000-meter team race as well.

In 1925, Katz moved to Berlin, where he joined the Bar Kokhba Jewish sports club. He worked at the

Maccabi Games. His coaching was on a voluntary basis in his spare time - he had hoped to find employment as a trainer, but was unpaid for his work and struggled to make a living. He worked as a guard and maintenance man at the Maccabiah Stadium in Tel Aviv, a bricklayer on construction sites, and a traveling film projectionist for the British Army.[3][4]

In 1936, Katz married Dvora Kamtsan, a fellow Finnish Jewish immigrant to Palestine, and they had one daughter, Ilana, who was born in 1944.[4]

In December 1947, as the

Civil War in Mandatory Palestine was raging, Katz screened a film at a British military camp in the Gaza area. Later that evening, he was killed by Arab sniper fire.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. Olympedia Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ISBN 978-1-903900-87-1
    .
  3. ^ a b Forgotten Olympic track champion’s legacy races on in Israel
  4. ^ a b c Remembering Elias Katz, Finnish Olympic champion
  5. ^ http://isoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/21.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ Lipman, Steve (August 6, 2004). "The Forgotten Olympians". Jewish Week. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2014.

Further reading

  • Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Track & Field (Men): 3000-Meter Steeplechase". In The Complete Book of the Olympics - 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press, Limited. pp. 168–9.
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