 Traun in 1907 | |||||||||||||||
| Full name | Friedrich Adolf Traun | ||||||||||||||
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| Country (sports) |  German Empire | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1876-03-29)29 March 1876 | ||||||||||||||
| Died | 11 July 1908(1908-07-11) (aged 32) Wandsbek, German Empire | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Friedrich Adolf "Fritz" Traun (29 March 1876 – 11 July 1908) was a Germanathlete andtennis player.[1] Born into a wealthy family, he participated in the1896 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal in men's doubles. He committed suicide after being accused of fathering a child out of wedlock.
Traun was born the son of a wealthy family from Hamburg in 1876. His father, Heinrich Traun (1838–1909), owned a natural rubber manufacturing company and later becamesenator at Hamburg from 1901 to 1908. In 1885, Fritz began studyingchemistry atDresden University of Technology. In autumn of the same year, he participated in atrack and field competition between athletes from Berlin and Hamburg and won the race over a distance of half a mile.[2]
In 1896 Traun competed at the first modernOlympic Games inAthens.[3] Traun placed third in his preliminary heat of the 800 metres and did not advance to the final. He also participated in the tennis tournament. In the singles competition, Traun was defeated in the first round byJohn Pius Boland ofGreat Britain and Ireland, the eventualgold medallist. This put Traun in a six-way tie for eighth place in the field of thirteen men. For the doubles tournament, Traun and Boland partnered. They defeated theGreek brothersAristidis andKonstantinos Akratopoulos in the first round and had a bye for the semifinals. In the final, the pair defeated Greek-EgyptianDimitrios Kasdaglis andDemetrios Petrokokkinos of Greece to give Traun his own gold medal. In 1897, Traun took part in a track-and-field competition atBaden-Baden and was the first German to reach a length of over 6 meters inlong jump.[2]
In 1899, Traun finished his studies with the degree of aDoctor of Science. His thesis "On the knowledge of dibromomesitol bromide and its transformation products" received the best possible mark,summa cum laude. After working as a scientist at theSorbonne atParis for two years, he decided to enter his father's company. In 1902, Traun made a business trip to the United States in order to visit the company's branch onLong Island. The following winter, he fell ill oftuberculosis. Upon recommendation ofCarl Schurz, Traun spent the spring of 1903 in a hotel atAugusta, Georgia, before returning to Germany.[2]
As he did not fully recover from his illness, he mostly spent the following years at health spas in theAlps such asSt. Moritz andDavos. In addition, he began to work as a sports journalist and tournament organizer. In 1906, he was the director of theGerman Tennis Championships at Hamburg, and its referee in 1907. In the same year, he metFriedel Preetorius (1884–1938),[4] the daughter of the wealthy entrepreneur Wilhelm Preetorius fromMainz, during theKiel Week. The following March, both married at Hamburg, and in their honeymoon they drove as far asAlgiers in Friedrich's car. After their return, the couple lived at the exclusivePark Hôtel Teufelsbrücke at Hamburg.[2]
On the morning of 11 July 1908, a young lady entered the hotel and claimed that she was also married to Traun and even had children by him. After meeting with Traun, he shot himself in the bathroom of his apartment. Neither the lady's identity nor the validity of her claim is known today. However, it seems very likely that she told the truth and Traun, facing a major social scandal at that time, killed himself. Friedrich's father Heinrich Traun adopted Friedel Preetorius who was already pregnant and gave birth to her daughterLieselotte in February 1909. She later marriedLudwig Strecker, owner ofB. Schott's Söhne (todaySchott Music). Friedrich Traun was buried in the family's grave at theOhlsdorf Cemetery.[2]
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