Joaquín Blume (Catalan: Joaquim Blume; 21 June 1933 – 29 April 1959) was a Spanish gymnast. The son of a German gymnastics instructor established in Barcelona,[1] he belonged to the gymnastics section of FC Barcelona.[2]
| Joaquín Blume | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Country represented |  Spain |
| Born | 21 June 1933 |
| Died | 29 April 1959 (aged 25) Cuenca, Spain |
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics |
He became Spanish gymnastics champion at 15[1] and he competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics of Helsinki with only 19 years.[2] He went to win eight medals in the 1955 Mediterranean Games[1] and in 1957 he won the European Championship, defeating favourite Yuri Titov.[2] He was a favourite for the 1956 Summer Olympics of Melbourne, until Spain boycotted the games in protest against the presence of the USSR, after their brutal suppression of the Hungarian Revolution.[3]
He was also a favourite in the 1960 Summer Olympics, but he died in a plane crash at the Valdemeca mountains, in Cuenca, on 29 April 1959. The plane was headed for Canarias, where the Spanish gymnastics team were to do a gymnastics exhibition. His wife, also a gymnast and pregnant with their second child, was also a passenger. There were no survivors.[2][4]
In his honour, the Catalan Gymnastics Federation started in 1969 the Memorial Joaquim Blume tournament, first only of male gymnastics with female competition introduced in 1972.[1] A sculpture in his honour is displayed at the Gardens of Joan Brossa, in Barcelona.