Albert Richter ( German: Albert Richter ; October 14, 1912 , Cologne - January 2, 1940 , Lörrach ) - German athlete - cyclist , eight-time medalist of the World Championships in track cycling . Antifascist .
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Biography
The son of an entrepreneur. At the age of 16, he mounted his bicycle for the first time. He began training secretly from his father, who did not welcome classes in this sport. Soon attracted the attention of the famous coach Ernst Berliner.
In 1932, he first started at the World Track Cycling Championships in Rome , and was awarded the gold medal in an individual sprint for amateurs. He tried unsuccessfully to perform at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in the same year, but was not included in the national team.
Since 1933 he participated in competitions as a professional. At the 1933 World Track Cycling Championships in Paris, he won a sprint bronze medal.
In his competition he won 6 more medals: silver at the world championship in Leipzig (1934), world championship in Brussels (1935), as well as bronze at the world championship in Zurich (1936), at the world championship in Copenhagen (1937), the world championship in Amsterdam (1938) and the World Cup in Milan (1939).
Richter was known for his anti-fascist views and, in order to not be forcibly mobilized to the Wehrmacht , decided to emigrate to Switzerland . On December 31, 1939, he boarded a train bound for Switzerland. According to two Dutch riders who were riding the same train, German soldiers entered the Weich am Rhein border checkpoint in Richter’s compartment. After some time, Richter was unconsciously thrown out of the train, his bicycle was pulled out of the luggage compartment. After the puncture of bicycle tires, it turned out that in the middle, money was hidden in the amount of 12,700 marks. In an unconscious state, Richter was taken from the platform and thrown into a lorry. Later, a bloodied German athlete was found dead in the basement of the hospital. The cause of death has not yet been established.