Helmut BANTZ

It is quite possible that Helmut Bantz was the only German in a sports arena at the 1948 Olympics. While German athletes were banned from competing, Bantz was acting as the - unofficial - coach of the British gymnastics team. At that time Bantz was in Britain as a prisoner of war, having been captured in 1944. When released, Bantz started his own - very successful - gymnastics career. After participation in the 1952 Olympics, Bantz earned three medals (two silvers, one bronze) at the 1954 World Championships. He managed to move up one step at the 1955 Europeans, winning a (shared) gold medal on the parallel bars, as well as three more medals. In Melbourne, he added an Olympic gold medal to his collection, sharing the horse vault title with Valentin Muratov.

Bantz remained active in sports for the remainder of his career, working among others at the German Sports College in Köln and for the Gymnastics Federation of the Rheinland. For a few years he became assistant coach at soccer Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. In 2008 he was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame.