George de Relwyskow

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameGeorge Frederick William•de Relwyskow
Used nameGeorge•de Relwyskow
Born18 June 1887 in Kensington, England (GBR)
Died9 November 1942 in Leeds, England (GBR)
Measurements174 cm / 65 kg
AffiliationsGerman Gymnastic Society, London (GBR) / Hammersmith Amateur Wrestling Club, Hammersmith (GBR)
NOC Great Britain
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 1
Bronze 0
Total 2

Biography

George de Relwyskow of Hammersmith won the British lightweight and middleweight titles in 1907 and 1908 and contested both events at the 1908 Olympics. After losing to Stanley Bacon in the middleweight final, de Relwyskow had no difficulty in winning the gold medal in the lightweight division where he defeated the novice William Wood, who had only taken up the sport six months previously. De Relwyskow had celebrated his 21st birthday the previous months and held the record of being the youngest winner of an Olympic gold medal for wrestling until 1976 when the 20-year-old Russian Suren Nalbandyan won the Greco-Roman lightweight title. De Relwyskow, who was coach to the 1924 British Olympic team, eventually settled in Yorkshire and was a builder and decorator in Leeds, where he was also a part-time masseur to various sporting clubs.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1908 Summer Olympics Wrestling GBR George de Relwyskow
Lightweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) 1 Gold
Middleweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) 2 Silver

Errata

Was not killed in action in Burma, but actually died in his home in Leeds in 1942.