Abraham Kurland
Personal information
Born(1912-06-10)10 June 1912
Odense, Syddanmark, Denmark
Died14 March 1999(1999-03-14) (aged 86)
Resting placeMosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads
Sport
Country Denmark
Sportwrestling
Weight classlightweight
Event(s)Greco Roman, freestyle
ClubHakoah Jewish Sports Club, København/Bagsværd
Achievements and titles
National finals12x Danish champion
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1932 Los Angeles lightweight
European Wrestling Championships
Gold medal – first place1934 StockholmGreco Roman
Silver medal – second place1935 BrusselsGreco Roman
Bronze medal – third place1934 Stockholmfreestyle
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place1932 Palestinelightweight

Abraham Kurland (10 June 1912 – 14 March 1999) was a Danish Olympic silver medalist wrestler.[1] Kurland won 12 Denmark championships from 1932-49, won a silver medal in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at the 1932 Olympics and a gold medal in lightweight at the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, won a gold medal at the 1934 European Wrestling Championships in Greco-Roman and a bronze medal in freestyle, and won a silver medal at the 1935 European Wrestling Championships.[2][3]

Kurland was the favorite to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics. However, he declined to participate because it was taking place in Nazi Germany.

Biography

Kurland was Jewish, and was born in Odense, Syddanmark, Denmark.[1][4]

He was affiliated with the Hakoah Jewish Sports Club, København/Bagsværd.[4][5]

In 1928, at 16 years of age, Kurland became Hakoah's first Copenhagen bantamweight champion.[6]

Kurland won 12 Denmark championships from 1932-49.[2]

He won a silver medal in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, at 20 years of age, after being narrowly defeated for the gold medal.[1][7]

At the 1932 Maccabiah Games in Mandatory Palestine, Kurland won a gold medal in the lightweight category.[8]

At the 1934 European Wrestling Championships Kurland won a gold medal in Greco-Roman, and a bronze medal in freestyle.[2] At the 1935 European Wrestling Championships he won a silver medal in Greco-Roman.[2][3]

Kurland was the favorite to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics.[5][7][9] However, he declined to participate because it was taking place in Nazi Germany.[1]

In 1943 during World War II, Kurland fled to Sweden on a fishing boat from Gilleleje to Hoganas with a group Danish-Jewish wrestlers, and they stayed with the families of Swedish wrestlers.[2][6]

In 1945 he returned to Denmark.[2] Kurland worked there as a coach from 1948-62.[2]

After the war, at the 1948 Olympics in London, Kurland competed in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at 36 years of age, and came in ninth.[10][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Paul (2004). Jews and the Olympic Games: The Clash Between Sport and Politics – With a Complete Review of Jewish Olympic Medalists. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 9781903900888. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Abraham Kurland," olympics.com.
  3. 1 2 "International Wrestling Database". whatsmat-uww-org.
  4. 1 2 "Abraham Kurland Biography and Olympic Results". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Norman Berdichevsky. "The Golden Calf Idols of the World Cup, The Olympics, and What Happened in Berlin, 1936". New English Review. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  6. 1 2 "NOGET AF HAKOAHS HISTORISKE FORTID | Jif Hakoah". hakoah.dk.
  7. 1 2 Sidonie Smith (2000). The Olympics at the millennium: power, politics, and the games. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813528205. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "Maccabiah Games before World War II". sport-record.de.
  9. ↑ Nina Skyhøj Olsen. "I ringen med Hitler". idraetshistorie.dk.
  10. ↑ "Abraham Kurland - Olympic Facts and Results". olympiandatabase.com.
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