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]
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.
