02. November 2009  
Esslingen, Germany  
Artistic Gymnastics

100 years ago today, Rudolf SPIETH was born

Rudolf SPIETH
a pioneer of aparatus development

Rudolf SPIETH, born on the 2nd November 1909, was one of the western impulse givers for German and also interational apparatus and artistic gymnastics.
The once in 1831 of great, great-grandfather Wilhelm Ludwig Spieth in Oberesslingen fouded carpenters shop, developed over the genertions to one of the world wide best known makes of gymnastics apparati.
Especially after the second world war and and due to the personal partnership between Rudolf Spieth and Richard Reuther, an Oppauer artistic gymnast and constructor, essentail technological accents of the making of modern artistic gymnastics apparati were made.
One of the first and most important developments were for instance the construction of a new type of coil spring board.

Rudolf SPIETH (3. v.l.) as an active gymnast in the team of 'TV 1845 Esslingen'

Patent specification 'No. 918 872, 'Rheuther spring board

Rudolf Spieth, the father of the many year successor business leader Uli Spieth, was a close friend of Richard Reuther, a master gymnast  and constructor from Oppau. Shorty after the end of the second world war the two friends posed the question, whether it be possible, to build a spring board by which gymnasts could jump higher.

In the birth year of Spieth Holztechnik LLtd., 1956, the first Reuther-spring boards were used for the Olympics in Melbourne .
Until today the  „Original Reuther apparati“ are produced and sold in Esslingen.
While in the 50's the West German artistic gymnasts seemed rather to peer after than to take part in the international achievement development, they did however have a world standing in apparatus development.

Rudolf Spieth talking with the former TC-member Pierre Hentges from Luxemburg (left.)

Rudolf Spieth - then as artistic gymnastics referree of the DTB and at the end rather unlucky - whose top gymnast career was hindered by the consequences of a child paralysis, produced the most modern gymnastics apparati in Eßlingen.
For instance mats with double swing floor for floor gymnastics (cost then : 8,000 Marks) or an especially elastic unevenbar (development costs : 50,000 Marks).
Both neu developments were officially established for all international championships by the international gymnastics alliance, of which Rudolf Spieth was Vice President o the technical commission.
So the Businessman from Essling supplied the Olympics gymnastics championships in 1964 in Tokio and was also the Olympics supplier in Mexiko 1968. 40 countries bought already then, the Spieth products of Spieth licences for reproduction. On his double floor and on the bar the best of the world experienced their top achievements.

Son Ulrich, father Rudolf Spieth in the Eighties

But " unfortunately i did not manage ", Spieth had told the Press, to upgrade the artistic gymnastics in the DTB and the German international.
Rudolf Spieth devoted his whole life to gymnastics. Besides these respected tasks he was active in many boards of the FIG, belonged from 1957 - 1972 to the technical committee of the Men, and from 1972 - 1980 to the executive committee of the FIG.
Also later as honorary member he did not rest on his laurels.
1989 he worked together with Dr. Josef Göhler on the "History of Gymnastics Apparati" which was published as a book in the frame of the 25th Gymnastics World Championships 1989 in Stuttgart and somewhat also documented important elements of the life work of Rudolf Spieth.
Also after the businnesses of the SPIETH family were taken over by the son Ulrich Spieth, who developed the lable to one of the worlds leading makes, he maintained the principles of his father, that "gymnastics apparati must serve the athletes"!
They form the credo also of the most modern apparati developments and generations of the "SPIETH Gymnastic Ltd., whose last great innovation, the vault table "Ergojet", aswell as also all other following modern championship and trainings apparati - which meet the current requirements of the worlds best athletes and take part n the technological top standards at Olympic games, world- and European championships in the memory of  Rudolf Spieths.
(c) Eckhard Herholz, GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL