Alfred Guth
Austrian modern pentathlete
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Alfred Guth (27 July 1908 – 13 November 1996) was an Austrian water polo player, swimmer, and modern pentathlete. At the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, in swimming he won a gold medal and two silver medals. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon. A Holocaust survivor, he emigrated to the United States after WWII, competed in Masters swimming, and established 41 U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records.
Alfred Guth in 1934 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 27 July 1908 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 November 1996 (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Modern pentathlon, swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hakoah, Vienna | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
Austria
In 1924 and 1925, swimming for the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna, Guth won the Quer Durch Wien (“Across Vienna”) 7.5 km race in the Danube.[2][3]
Guth competed for Austria at the 1927 Men's Water Polo European Championship in Bologna, Italy, in which the team came in 6th.[4]
Guth competed in swimming at the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine.[5] He won a gold medal in the 1,500m freestyle, a silver medal in the 400m freestyle, and a silver medal as part of Team Austria in the 4 × 200 m freestyle.[5]
He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics, coming in 33rd in modern pentathlon.[6][7] Guth placed highest in swimming, where he came in 5th, ahead of all three medalists.[8]
United States
Guth was a Holocaust survivor, and emigrated to the United States.[9]
In the US, Guth lived in San Pedro, California, and competed in Masters swimming.[10][11] He established 28 individual and 13 relay U.S. Masters Swimming age-group records between 1972 and 1987.[12] He was a Masters All American in 1974 and 1977 (65–69), 1978–79 and 1981-83 (70–74), 1983-87 (75–79), and 1988-89 (80–84).[11]
