About Friedrich Traun

Friedrich Adolph Traun (March 29, 1876 in Wandsbeck – July 11, 1908 in Hamburg) was a German athlete and tennis player. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens â€” the first modern Olympic games. Traun placed third in his preliminary heat of the 100 metres and did not advance to the final. In the singles tennis tournament, Traun was defeated in the first round by John Pius Boland of Great Britain and Ireland, the eventual gold 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 the Greek brothers Aristidis and Konstantinos Akratopoulos in the first round and had a bye for the semifinals. In the final, the pair defeated Dionysios Kasdaglis of Egypt and Demetrios Petrokokkinos of Greece to give Traun his own gold medal. He grew up in a wealthy family, his father was