Gold throw with "spikes"
King George VI liked Bauma’s costume
For the first time in five decades, Austria will be represented at the Olympic Games by a world-class athlete in the women's javelin throw in the shape of European champion Victoria Hudson, who will be able to continue a great red-white-red tradition in Paris. With seven top 10 places, the women's javelin throw is Austria's most successful discipline in the history of Olympic athletics. This record is led by Herma Bauma (gold in 1948) and Eva Janko (bronze in 1968). Reason enough to recall Herma Bauma's Olympic victory before the Games in Paris ...
In many conversations with Herma Bauma, including visits to her in Alterlaa, when she pinned the London starting number 791 on her chest for our photographer, and in Lainz Hospital relatively shortly before her death in February 2003, I had the good fortune and privilege of getting to know Austria's only female Olympic champion in athletics to date.
During the interviews, her eyes lit up when she talked about 1948 - from the anxious months before, when her Olympic start was on a knife's edge due to an illness ("Only very few people still know that today!"), from the gold throw on July 31, 1948 ("I knew I was in bomb shape!") to her return to Vienna by train ("Third class, wooden class!"). The reception at Vienna's Westbahnhof, which was packed with sports fans, was always a highlight for her in her stories: "One of the best moments of my life..."
"Bauma is training again!"
From the spring of 1948, when Herma Bauma suffered septic angina after a tonsil operation, people in Austria feared for her Olympic start for months. The Viennese, who came fourth in Berlin in 1936, missing out on bronze by just 14 centimetres, had thrown a world record of 48.21 m in June 1947 and was one of the great hopes for London. The Viennese newspapers - above all the "Welt am Abend", the "Arbeiter Zeitung" and the "Arbeiterwille" - constantly published news about Herma Bauma's state of health, almost like medical bulletins. "Herma Bauma still ill", "Our strongest weapon will still be ill for some time", "She would undoubtedly be a contender for the Goldene", were the headlines. Until a glimmer of hope appeared in mid-June: "Bauma is training again!"
Standard narrowly surpassed
Welt am Abend finally reported on June 11: "After a long recovery vacation, her strong constitution has now helped her to get back on her feet faster than anyone would have expected. She has already put her spikes back on and started light training." Bauma recalled: "The federation had set me a qualifying standard for London, which most people have forgotten today!" 43.00 m was required. She threw this standard at the national championships in Vienna on July 11, as the "Österreichische Zeitung, Zeitung der Sowjetarmee für die Bevölkerung Österreichs" reported: "Herma Bauma threw 43.07 m in the javelin, proving that she has very consistent form." The ÖLV then suggested Herma Bauma to the ÖOC for nomination.
"Two spikes backwards"
The spikes mentioned by "Welt am Abend" were a favorite topic of hers. "Before the Games in London, I went to a shoemaker and had spikes made for me with two spikes backwards. To support myself when throwing off." She spoke of a "trick", her golden trick.
Even before her Olympic final, 33-year-old Herma Bauma was already showing great form. "The training results made me sit up and take notice. Bauma's throws were consistently over 40 m," reported "Sport-Welt", "when she didn't know what to do with her good mood after a particularly successful training session, she ran to the post office and telegraphed to Vienna for expensive foreign currency!" According to the Wiener Sportzeitung, of which I keep the post-war years in my archive, she "shouted through the wire": "I'm in bomb shape!" Herma Bauma was proved right...
"The bomb exploded"
On the afternoon of July 31, a Saturday, she became Olympic champion in the javelin throw with 45.57 m in front of 85,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium. Kaisa Parviainen had initially led with 43.79 m, but in her fifth attempt the Viennese managed the golden throw, taking the gold medal ahead of the Finn and the Dane Lily Carlstedt (42.08).
No wonder that "Sport-Welt", which had been exclusively informed of Bauma's top form in London, proudly ran the headline: "The telegraphically announced gold medal!" The text read: "And indeed, two days later the bomb exploded, it was a proud success for the Viennese athlete, who achieved in London in 1948 what she had been denied in Berlin in 1936."
Even today, it is exciting to read the countless reports and great coverage of the historic gold. Her strong nerves were often emphasized. "She didn't get nervous, she wasn't impressed by her surroundings or her competitors. And the heat? Well, anyone who knows Herma Bauma knows that she only really warms up at over 30 degrees", wrote the "Sport-Welt", for example. The "Arbeiter-Zeitung" wrote: "Herma Bauma's victory is all the more remarkable as the Austrian only resumed training two months ago following an operation she had to undergo this spring."
Red-white-red on the victory pole
Many newspapers carried the news of Bauma's Olympic victory (some even with a picture of the Viennese athlete) on their front pages. In 1948, this gold medal was, at least for a short time, balm on the wounds of the post-war period. A few symptomatic lines from the "Neue Zeit" newspaper: "Herma Bauma's success is all the more important because, as is well known, Austrian female athletes were severely handicapped by the poor nutritional conditions." The "Volkswille", for example, also reported the "Gold medal in javelin throwing for Austria" in its lead story on page 1 only under the "Food table".
Inside the paper, Herma Bauma was of course celebrated with titles in big, bold letters. "First gold medal for Austria!", the papers cheered. Those newspapers that had been able to afford to send their own reporters to London were literally overflowing with reports. They highlighted the fact that "the red-white-red colors fluttered on the victory mast for the first time" ("Oberösterreichische Nachrichten").
"Storm of applause for Herma"
The "Weltpresse" wrote about the competition: "Herma Bauma was not in the best of form at first. Her throws were too flat, her sequence not quite right. She was in third place after the preliminaries and the Austrian community had already consoled themselves with the prospect of a bronze medal. However, the penultimate throw in the decision was a real mark. The run-up was excellent, the javelin flew out of his shoulder in the right arc and in the next moment he had already left the Olympic record flag behind him." Rubert Brum in the "Wiener Kurier": "The award ceremony soon took place, during which the Austrian anthem was played in the stadium for the first time. Stormy applause greeted the great success of the Viennese. The storm of applause for Herma Bauma intensified when the speaker announced that she had set a new Olympic record."
"Everyonewas ecstatic"
The Vorarlberger Nachrichten also had its own correspondent in London: "We Austrians must have had the best day of the 14th Olympic Games currently being held in London. We were all ecstatic on this glowing Saturday afternoon when our representative in the javelin throw, Herma Bauma ... beat her Finnish competitor Parviainen, who had already taken the lead after the first round, by almost 2 meters. It was an uplifting moment for everyone when the red-white-red flag was hoisted on the victory pole at the award ceremony a little later, when our overjoyed, beaming Herma was allowed to receive the gold medal and the military band played our national anthem, which was listened to by more than 80,000 people standing in awe."
Bruckner more important than Bauma
The competition from the "VN", the "Vorarlberger Volksblatt", had to make do with a two-column article ("The first gold medal for Austria"). Incidentally, this news item only found space under a report on "Anton Bruckner's VII Symphony" at the Bregenz Festival, which was currently underway. However, Dr. Karl Böhm himself explained why he had included this symphony in the program instead of Bruckner's Fifth.
The honors and receptions for Herma Bauma had already begun in London. The "Österreichische Volksstimme" was worth a short but expensive "telephonate" from the Olympic city to announce that Bauma had received the "Golden Pin of the ÖFB": "Austria's soccer expedition held a small celebration in their camp in West Drayton in honor of Herma Bauma's Olympic victory. The president of the Vienna Football Association, Putzendopler, honored the Olympic champion by presenting her with the golden pin of the Austrian Football Association to great applause from the footballers."
Reception at Buckingham Palace
Herma Bauma was even present at the "Reception in honor of the Olympic participants" by King George VI of England at Buckingham Palace. The "Salzburger Volkszeitung" reported that the King had a lengthy conversation with ÖOC Secretary General Dr. Edgar Fried, "inquired about the details of the team, and when he heard that the Austrian Bauma had already been awarded the gold medal, he congratulated her and was delighted to meet her. The King particularly liked the Austrian team's costume, which he described as typically Austrian. The Queen, Princess Elisabeth, heir to the throne, and Queen Mother Mary were also present."
Austria's Olympic athletics champion returned to Vienna via Paris, where Herma Bauma won a competition with 46.88 m despite falling ill (Neue Zeit reported a "nervous fever due to overexertion"). It was an overwhelming reception for Herma Bauma, which she has always raved about! All the Viennese newspapers had announced that Bauma would arrive at Vienna's Westbahnhof at 4.40 p.m. on August 18 on the Westbahn. The "Welt am Abend" asked somewhat anxiously on its front page: "How will Vienna receive its Olympic champion Herma Bauma?" Other papers asked whether there would be enough onlookers...
"Stormy reception"
All worries were unjustified! The "Weltpresse" reported the following day: "The call for Vienna to give its Olympic champion Herma Bauma a friendly welcome on her return home did not go unheard. As is customary in Vienna, a little too much of a good thing was done, creating a real fuss in which the celebrated athlete was almost crushed." The "Wiener Kurier" commented: "There was rapturous enthusiasm and when our successful fighters came into view after the train arrived, there was no stopping them, the inadequate guard cordon was broken and Herma Bauma was carried triumphantly on the shoulders of the flower-bearing sports enthusiasts through the cheering crowd." The agency pictures are historical testimony to this!
According to "Welt am Abend", there were "tumultuous scenes": "The noble police even made arrests. Even outside the gates, people were scrambling for platform tickets, which had probably not been in such a turmoil as yesterday. The roofs of the wagons on the neighboring tracks were besieged by the newsreel cameramen and the army of photographers." The "Neue Zeit" wrote: "When the train finally rolled in, everyone rushed to the 1st and 2nd class carriages, but there was no sign of Herma Bauma.
On the shoulders of the fans
A few keen athletes hurriedly ran all the way backwards, where they finally discovered the modest Olympic champion in a third-class carriage. Herma was lifted onto the shoulders of some strong lads, another placed the javelin in her hand and the beaming athlete was carried out of the station in a triumphal procession, where the official reception committee had already arrived." Conclusion in "Neues Österreich": "It was an improvised, but all the more warm welcome. You never knew until now that the athletes had so many enthusiastic supporters."
Tribute at Rapid against Wacker
Not only in athletics, but also in soccer. Before the championship match between Rapid and Wacker, the presidents of the two clubs held a short tribute to Herma Bauma in the stadium. "Das Kleine Volksblatt" reported: The match, which ended 1:1, "brought a full house, 40,000 spectators had turned up, but they had also come to welcome the Olympic champion Herma Bauma back to the sports field." Danubia had organized a local athletics meeting there, with Herma Bauma winning the javelin throw with 44.20 m.
The second world record
A little later - on September 12, 1948 - Herma Bauma was to throw much further in front of 30,000 spectators in the Vienna stadium. After her 48.21 m in 1947, "the heroine of the day" ("Neue Zeit") set her second world record with 48.63 m. It is often rightly pointed out internationally that Klaudia Majutschaja (USSR) had already surpassed the 50 m mark a year earlier with 50.32 m in Moscow. However, as the Soviet Union was not yet a member of the World Athletics Federation at the time, this distance was not ratified as a world record. Also in 1948, Alexandra Chudina (48.92 m) and Natalia Smirnitskaya (47.17 m) at the Soviet championships and Inge Wolf at the German championships threw 45.69 m, which was further than Herma Bauma's Olympic victory, as Ekkehard zu Megede noted.
That is correct, but pointless. What counts is Herma Bauma's gold medal, Austria's only female Olympic champion in athletics to date. With her European Championship title, Victoria Hudson has proven that she is capable of building on the top Olympic results of the Austrian javelin throwers. Perhaps she will also manage the golden throw in Paris. Just like Herma Bauma once did in London in 1948.
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