Josef Imbach (athlete)
{{Short description|Swiss sprinter (1894–1964)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name= Josef Imbach
|image=File:JosefImbach.JPG
|caption=Imbach in 1921
|birth_date= 15 December 1894
|birth_place= Lyss, Switzxerland
| death_date = 14 September 1964 (aged 69)
| death_place = Geneva, Switzerland
|sport=Athletics
|event= Sprints
|club= CA Geneva
}}
Josef Imbach (15 December 1894 – 14 September 1964) was a Swiss sprinter who competed in the Olympic Games in 1920 and 1924.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/75831 |title=Josef Imbach |work=Olympedia |access-date=4 July 2021}}
Career
At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp Imbach represented Switzerland in the 100 m and 200 m dashes and the 4 × 100 m relay, but did not qualify for the final in any of these events.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/im/josef-imbach-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418011445/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/im/josef-imbach-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |title=Josef Imbach Bio, Stats and Results |accessdate=12 December 2014 |publisher=Sports Reference LLC}}
Imbach finished second behind Harry Edward in the 220 yards event at the British 1922 AAA Championships.{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19220701/111/0014 |title=AAA Championships |work=Daily Mirror |date=1 July 1922 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=1 December 2024 }}{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19220703/418/0016 |title=Athletic Championships |work=Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer |date=3 July 1922 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=1 December 2024 }}{{cite web|url=https://nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=1 December 2024 }}
Two years later in Paris Imbach competed in the 400 m, winning his heat in 51.8 and then his quarter-final in 48.0. The latter time was an Olympic record and an unofficial world record.{{cite book |url=http://library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf |title=Les Jeux de la VIIIE Olympiade Paris 1924: Rapport Officiel |page=108 |accessdate=12 December 2014 |language=French |publisher=French Olympic Committee |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410085129/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}{{#tag:ref|The previous Olympic and world record for men's 400 m was 48.2 by Charles Reidpath from the 1912 Olympics;{{cite book |title=Huippu-urheilun historia |year=1935 |publisher=Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö |author=Jukola, Martti |language=Finnish}} however, the world record for the slightly longer 440 yd (402.3 m) race was 47.4 by Ted Meredith. Imbach's 48.0 was the best by a European amateur at either distance (Beauchamp Day, a professional, had run 440 yards in 47.8),{{cite web |url=http://www.rfea.es/aeea/archivos/progr_recordeuropaAL.pdf |language=Spanish |title=Progresión de los Récords de Europa al Aire Libre |author=García, José María |accessdate=12 December 2014 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417084137/https://www.rfea.es/aeea/archivos/progr_recordeuropaAL.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~rsparks/eurrec-m.htm |title=European Records Progression (Men) |date=31 December 2002 |accessdate=12 December 2014 |author=Sparks, Bob |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150218234437/http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~rsparks/eurrec-m.htm |archivedate=18 February 2015 }} but although record lists for the metric and imperial distances were kept separately, Imbach's 48.0 was never ratified as either a world record or a European record since Liddell's 47.6 from the final superseded it. |group="nb"}} In his semi-final, Imbach placed second to the eventual gold medalist, Eric Liddell, in 48.3. In the final Imbach went out hard, but tripped on the ropes used to separate the lanes, fell and failed to finish.{{cite book |title=IAAF Athletics Statistics Book: Games of the XXX Olympiad London 2012 |editor=Butler, Mark |publisher=IAAF Communications Department |page=69}}
Imbach also ran in the 4 × 100 m relay as part of the Swiss team; Switzerland was disqualified in the final.
Notes
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References
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Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics