Gérard Blitz (1 August 1901 – 8 March 1979) was a Belgian Olympic swimmer and water polo player who competed at the 1920, 1924, 1928 and 1936 Olympics. He was the younger brother of Maurice Blitz, also a water polo player, and uncle of Gérard Blitz who founded Club Med in 1950.
Biography
1920 Olympic Bronze and Silver
At the 1920 Summer Olympics, Blitz won a bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke and a silver medal with the Belgian water polo team, which also included his brother Maurice. He failed to reach the finals of the 100 m and 4 × 200 m freestyle events. The Nazi regime had passed the anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws the prior Fall which stripped German Jews of citizenship, opportunities to receive a public education, and access to many professions and public facilities. Jewish businesses had been boycotted, and Jews could not serve in the legal profession, the civil service, teach in secondary schools or universities or vote or hold public office.
Blitz died in 1979. In 1990 he was inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Pioneer Swimmer.