Abraham Kurland
Encyclopedia
Abraham Kurland was a Danish wrestler
.
Kurland was Jewish, and was born in Odense
, Syddanmark, Denmark. He was affiliated with the Hakoah
Jewish Sports club, København/Bagsværd
, København.
He won a silver medal in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at the 1932 Olympics
in Los Angeles, after being narrowly defeated for the gold medal.
He was the favorite to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics
, but declined to participate because it was taking place in Nazi Gernamy. The Danish Olympic Committee had been afraid that he might win, which would "embarrass Denmark." Kurland and his brother left Denmark in 1943 for Sweden, along with much of the Danish Jewish community. They returned at the end of World War II. In the 1948 games Kurland participated, but he was then 45 years old and past his prime.
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...
.
Kurland was Jewish, and was born in Odense
Odense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, Syddanmark, Denmark. He was affiliated with the Hakoah
Hakoah
Hakoah means "The Strength" and may refer to any one of these Jewish sport organizations:* Hakoah Vienna , an athletic club in Austria that is the origin of the Hakoah name...
Jewish Sports club, København/Bagsværd
Bagsværd
Bagsværd is a suburb approximately 12 km northwest of Copenhagen, in the Gladsaxe Municipality. Its center is dominated by the Bagsværd Towers, two high-rise apartment blocks...
, København.
He won a silver medal in lightweight Greco Roman wrestling at the 1932 Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
in Los Angeles, after being narrowly defeated for the gold medal.
He was the favorite to win a gold medal at the 1936 Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, but declined to participate because it was taking place in Nazi Gernamy. The Danish Olympic Committee had been afraid that he might win, which would "embarrass Denmark." Kurland and his brother left Denmark in 1943 for Sweden, along with much of the Danish Jewish community. They returned at the end of World War II. In the 1948 games Kurland participated, but he was then 45 years old and past his prime.