Leopold Mayer

Leopold Mayer competed in two swimming events at the 1906 Intercalated Athens Olympics and was entered in two others, but did not start. He finished eighth over 1-mile freestyle as his best result. Mayer was 1903 Austrian Champion in the 100-, 200-, and 500 metres freestyle. In total he was a five-time winner of the Austrian championships.

At the beginning of September 1912, the starting signal was given for the first swimming competition in the Danube channel under the new title “Quer durch Wien”. The over 10-km event was organized by Mayer. During World War I, he was serving with the 37th Infantry Reserves when he was killed in action in September 1914, less than two months after the outbreak of the hostilities.