Tilly Fleischer

Biography

Ottilie "Tilly" Fleischer was born on October 2, 1911 in Frankfurt am Mein, Hessen, Germany. Her father was a butcher. Tilly initially became interested in sports as a child and trained as a teenager in a variety of athletic activities that include shot put, pentathlon, and the discus and javelin throw. Fleischer won the bronze medal in the women's javelin throw and finished fourth in the women's discus throw at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Tilly subsequently went on to win the gold medal in the women's javelin throw at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany and holds the distinction of being the first German woman to win a gold medal at an Olympics event. After retiring from athletic competitions Fleischer took up playing handball and was a member of the Eintracht Frankfurt handball club that won the German championship in 1943. Tilly was married twice and had two daughters from her first marriage. Fleischer opened a leather goods shop in Lahr, Germany in 1948. Tilly died at age 93 on July 14, 2005.