Gustav Fischer (equestrian)

This article is about the Swiss equestrian athlete. For the German explorer, see Gustav Fischer.
Gustav Fischer
Personal information
Born November 8, 1915 (1915-11-08)
Meisterschwanden, Switzerland
Died November 22, 1990 (1990-11-23) (aged 75)
Medal record
Equestrian
Representing   Switzerland
Olympic Games
1952 Helsinki Team dressage
1960 Rome Individual dressage
1964 Tokyo Team dressage
1956 Stockholm Team dressage
1968 Mexico City Team dressage
European Championships
1965 Copenhagen Team dressage

Gustav Fischer (November 8, 1915 – November 22, 1990) was a Swiss equestrian athlete who competed at five Summer Olympic Games, winning a total of five medals. He won medals in the team dressage events in the 1952, 1956, 1964, and 1968 games;[1] there was no team dressage event held in 1960,[2] but he won an individual dressage medal in that year.[1]

In 1968, he and fellow equestrian Henri Chammartin jointly became the second Swiss sportspersons to compete at five Olympic Games. (The first was middle-distance runner Paul Martin.)

Early life

Fischer was born on November 8, 1915, in Meisterschwanden, Switzerland.[1]

Olympic career

Fischer first competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland at the age of 36, in both the individual and team dressage events.[1] He came in a disappointing 8th place in the individual event, behind both of his Swiss teammates; Gottfried Trachsel, who finished 4th, and Henri Chammartin, who finished 6th. However, he earned the first of five Olympic medals, a silver, in the team event with Trachsel and Chammartin.[3] Four years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, Fischer again medaled in the team event, and again fell short in the individual.[1] This time, Trachsel, Chammartin, and Fischer took bronze, and finished 6th, 8th, and 10th respectively in the individual event.[4]

Of the three athletes, only Fischer and Chammartin would compete in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, although in any case no team dressage event was held that year.[2][5] However, Fischer found new success, winning second place and a silver medal in the individual dressage competition, the only individual medal of his career.[5] The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, saw Fischer as the oldest member of the Swiss team, at 48 years of age. That year, he just missed winning a second individual medal in dressage, taking fourth place while his teammate Henri Chammartin took gold. However, with Chammartin and 21-year-old Marianne Gossweiler, the youngest Swiss equestrian athlete at the games, Fischer earned yet another silver medal in team dressage.[6] He won his final Olympic medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico at the age of 52, a bronze in team dressage, again with Chammartin and Gossweiler.[7]

Later life

Fischer died on November 22, 1990.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gustav Fischer". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  2. 1 2 "The XVII Olympiad: Rome 1960" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 1960. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  3. ↑ "Switzerland Equestrianism at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  4. ↑ "Switzerland Equestrianism at the 1960 Roma Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  5. 1 2 "Switzerland Equestrianism at the 1960 Helsinki Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  6. ↑ "Switzerland Equestrianism at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  7. ↑ "Switzerland Equestrianism at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
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