Lennep, 2–3 August 1930
Germany’s formidable dames gathered in Lennep to test their mettle, competing alongside the men but at a separate venue. The town’s enthusiasm was palpable, thanks largely to a local commercial councillor who had seen fit to bestow a magnificent new stadium upon the village. This benefactor – a man cut from the same cloth as the "Strawberry King" Arne Haukvik of Oslo – treated athletes and officials alike to a sumptuous banquet at the nearby Schloss Burg.
Auguste Hargus of Lübeck became only the third woman to launch a javelin beyond the 40-metre mark. Her winning throw of 40.22 (131-11) saw off Elisabeth "Liesel" Schumann, who had charmed the company at the castle with her singing, though Schumann would have her revenge a week later at the Women’s World Games.
In the discus, Grete Heublein flung the platter 38.11 (125-0), finding some small solace after a disappointing defeat in her preferred shot put. Even the future Olympic champion Ottilie "Tilly" Fleischer had to bend the knee here, though she too would find redemption with a silver medal in the following week’s international fray.
The sprint was a microscopic affair, with Lisa Gelius pipping Detta Lorenz at the tape. Lorenz, however, balanced the books by toppling Gelius in the 200. Versatile Gelius, a twelve-time national champion who lived to be nearly a hundred, eventually slid from the sprints toward the javelin, where she would later claim European gold in 1938.
Medallists (Wikipedia)