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Abraham Kurland
Danish wrestler (1912–1999) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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]
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