Hanns Braun was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 athlete.

Biography

He was born in Wernfels (today Spalt

Spalt

Spalt is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. The city of Spalt is famous for its growing of hops for beer.-Geography:...

) and died near Saint-Quentin, Aisne

Saint-Quentin, Aisne

Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 as fighter-pilot in an airplane-crash in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

He won the bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in the men's 800 metres

Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 800 metres

The men's 800 metres made its fourth Olympic appearance at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 20, 1908 and on July 21, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference...

 race at the 1908 Summer Olympics

1908 Summer Olympics

The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 with a time of 1:55.2, which was .8 seconds faster than the previous Olympic record but 3 seconds slower than the time of Mel Sheppard

Mel Sheppard

Melvin Whinfield "Peerless Mel" Sheppard was an American athlete, member of the Irish American Athletic Club and winner of four gold medals at the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics...

, the winner of the race. His semifinal time had been 1:58.0.

Braun was also a member of the silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 German medley relay team. He ran the final 800 metres of the 1600 metre race, following Arthur Hoffmann

Arthur Hoffmann (athlete)

Arthur Hoffmann was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Danzig and died in Hamburg....

, Hans Eicke

Hans Eicke

Hans Eicke was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.-Career:Eicke was born and died in Berlin. Eicke was a member of the silver medal German medley relay team. He was the second runner on the squad, running the second 200 metres...

, and Otto Trieloff

Otto Trieloff

Otto Paul Trieloff was a German athlete. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.He was born in Duisburg and died in Essen-Rüttenscheid....

. The team had an easy time defeating the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 squad in the first round, finishing in a time of 3:43.2. The final was a more difficult race, however, and the Germans never had a chance of catching the Americans. The first three runners found themselves in third place, and Braun began his leg five yards behind the Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 runner. He was able to catch up and pass Ödön Bodor

Ödön Bodor

Ödön Bodor was a Hungarian athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was Jewish.-Career:...

, however, giving the Germans a second-place victory of a tenth of a second at 3:32.4.

Braun also ran in the 1500 metres

Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 1500 metres

The men's 1500 metres was an Olympic event for the fourth times at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 13, 1908 and on July 14, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference...

. He placed third in his first round (semifinal) heat with a time of 4:18.2 and did not advance to the final.