František Erben

František Erben (27 November 1874 in Prague-Žižkov - 9 June 1942 in Prague) was a gymnast, trainer, and educator from Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic.

František Erben
František Erben in 1907
Personal information
Country represented Bohemia,  Czechoslovakia
Born(1874-11-27)November 27, 1874
Prague-Žižkov
DiedJune 9, 1942(1942-06-09) (aged 67)
Prague
HometownPrague
ResidencePrague
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelOlympic
Years on national teamBohemia/Czechoslovakia
ClubŽižkov Sokol
Medal record
Representing  Bohemia,  Czechoslovakia
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
1907 PragueHigh Bar
1907 PraguePommel Horse
1907 PragueTeam
1911 TurinTeam
1909 LuxembourgTeam
1909 LuxembourgHigh Bar
1907 PragueAll-Around
1907 PragueParallel Bars
1909 LuxembourgRings

Erben made his international competitive debut at the 2nd-ever 1900 Paris Summer Olympics where he finished in 32nd place.

He took part in the third-ever World Championships in 1907, where the Bohemian team made its auspicious debut and started their several-decades-long tradition of great success at World and Olympic competition in the sport of artistic gymnastics. He took bronze in the overall competition, behind his compatriot Josef Čada and Frenchman Jules Rolland. Bohemia also took gold in the team competition, and Erben took gold in both the horizontal bar and pommel horse and bronze in the parallel bars. At the next World Championships, in 1909, the Bohemian team won silver, behind France. At the next World Championships, Erben won silver on the horizontal bar and bronze on the rings.

In addition to his competitive sporting career, Erben was also a highly sought-after instructor. Against other competing applicants from other countries and systems, such as Germany and Sweden, Erben was chosen by the Russian Government to be a gymnastics teacher at their military academies and "in 1909...was designated teacher of gymnastics at the military academy in Petrograd...Russia."[1]. Previously, Česká Obec Sokolská, or COS (Czech Sokol Organization) hired him as a traveling instructor for their organization. During World War I, he joined the Czechoslovak Legion and returned to Czechoslovakia after World War I. In May 1925, Erben, described as a "teacher [who] had no equal" was hired as the Director of Sokol instructor schools, concurrent with the opening of Palác Michny z Vacínova (Michna Palace from Vacínov), more currently and simply known as Tyršův dům (Tyrš House).[2]

Despite having suffered several strokes later in life[3], and being 68 years old, Erben, an active member of Sokol organization was executed by Nazi Germans at the Kobylisy shooting range in Prague, following the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich by the members of Czech resistance.[4]

References
  1. Dusek, Peter Paul Jr. (1981). Marie Provaznik: Her Life and Contributions to Physical Education. University of Utah. p. 99.
  2. Dusek, Peter Paul Jr. (1981). Marie Provaznik: Her Life and Contributions to Physical Education. University of Utah. p. 267.
  3. Dusek, Peter Paul Jr. (1981). Marie Provaznik: Her Life and Contributions to Physical Education. University of Utah. p. 321.
  4. Profile at CoJeCo.cz
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.