"Gymnastics by Telegram" — The 1896 Olympic absentee winner

Photo: Albert Meyer

At the very first modern Olympics in Athens (1896), the German team won gold in the team parallel bars—but one gymnast, Hermann Weingärtner, had already left Greece and wasn’t even there to compete in the final!

The team event was held after the main gymnastics competitions concluded. Weingärtner, believing his Olympic run was done, headed back to Germany. When his teammates won the gold, they had to telegraph him the good news. That’s right: Weingärtner became an Olympic champion via telegram—possibly the only athlete in history to do so.

Talk about phantom gold medals! 🏅📨