Xaver HÖRMANN

Flatwater canoeist Xaver Hörmann qualified for the 1936 Berlin Olympics as the German F-1 champion and at the Games he won the bronze medal in the F-1 event over 10 km. In the final Hörmann took the early lead, before the Austrian organ builder Gregor Hradetzky, the clear favorite, and Frenchman Henri Eberhardt took the initiative. With Hörmann following closely, these two exchanged leads. The race wasn’t decided until the final kilometre, when Hradetzky opened up a gap of a boat’s length, winning the race three seconds ahead of the Eberhardt.

Hörmann was employed by the ski producer Schäfer in Esslingen. He was killed-in-action in 1943 during World War II on the Eastern front as a POW in the Ukraine.