Tilly Fleischer

Tilly Fleischer

Tilly Fleischer after winning the javelin event at the 1936 Games
Personal information
Full name	Ottilie Fleischer
Nickname(s)	Tilly
Nationality	German
Born	(1911-10-02)October 2, 1911 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Died	July 14, 2005(2005-07-14) (aged 93) Lahr, Germany
Sport
Country	Germany
Sport	Field athletics and handball
Event(s)	Shot, discus and javelin
Club	Eintracht Frankfurt (handball)
Medal record Representing Germany Olympic Games 1936 Berlin Javelin throw Representing Germany 1932 Los Angeles Javelin throw Women's World Games 1930 Prague Discus 1934 London Shot put

Ottilie ("Tilly") Fleischer (October 2, 1911 – July 14, 2005) was a German athlete who competed in a variety of track and field athletic events. She competed for Germany in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in three different events, taking the bronze medal in the javelin. Four years later in her home country at the 1936 Games she won the gold medal in the javelin in front of the Berlin crowds.

The reaction of Olympic officials to the congratulations given to her by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was put forward as the reason why Hitler never congratulated American athlete Jesse Owens after his first gold medal victory. Rumours appeared in 1966 as to who was the father of one of her daughters, after her daughter Giselle claimed in a book to be the daughter of Adolf Hitler.

Ottilie Fleischer was born on October 2, 1911; her father was a butcher. Even at an early age she was interested in sports, initially gymnastics, but when she was a teenager she became involved in athletics. She trained in a variety of events including pentathlon, javelin, discus and shot put.

Fleischer travelled across the Atlantic Ocean on board the SS Europa with the other members of the German team and then across the United States by train to Los Angeles in order to compete at the 1932 Summer Olympics. At the 1932 Games, she went in as one of the favourites for the gold medal in the women's javelin along with Ellen Braumüller. In the competition, she finished third, while Braumüller took the silver medal. American Babe Zaharias won the gold medal. She also competed in the Women's 4 x 100 metres relay with teammates Grete Heublein, Marie Dollinger and Braumüller. The team came in the sixth and final position out of the teams that entered the race. She also finished fourth in the women's discus throw, just outside the medal positions.