1964 Decathlon Olympic Gold Medalist. The first German athlete to win the decathlon at the Olympic Games, he was also known as a coach and athlete in other sports. He originally was a team handball and soccer player, but at 17 won the state championship in sprinting and moved to track and field. As German junior champion in the decathlon, he barely missed qualifying for the 1960 Rome Olympics. He was German champion in the decathlon in 1961 and 1963 and 200 m champion in 1962. He won the 1964 decathlon in Tokyo over Soviet athlete Rein Aun by the closest margin to that time. He also competed in bobsled, and was the 1973 silver medalist at the European Championships with Horst Floth in the 2-man bob. After studies as the Sportshochschule in Cologne, he was a longtime track and field coach with Bayer Leverkusen, with a number of Olympic athletes to his credit, and also coached the Fortuna Cologne soccer team in the German First Division in the last half of the 1973-1974 season but was unable to prevent their relegation. He also worked as a representative for Adidas. He was German Sportsman of the year in 1964 and was elected to the German Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He also was named to the German Olympic Committee in 1997. He was married twice, and his son Dirk was a professional soccer player.
1964 Decathlon Olympic Gold Medalist. The first German athlete to win the decathlon at the Olympic Games, he was also known as a coach and athlete in other sports. He originally was a team handball and soccer player, but at 17 won the state championship in sprinting and moved to track and field. As German junior champion in the decathlon, he barely missed qualifying for the 1960 Rome Olympics. He was German champion in the decathlon in 1961 and 1963 and 200 m champion in 1962. He won the 1964 decathlon in Tokyo over Soviet athlete Rein Aun by the closest margin to that time. He also competed in bobsled, and was the 1973 silver medalist at the European Championships with Horst Floth in the 2-man bob. After studies as the Sportshochschule in Cologne, he was a longtime track and field coach with Bayer Leverkusen, with a number of Olympic athletes to his credit, and also coached the Fortuna Cologne soccer team in the German First Division in the last half of the 1973-1974 season but was unable to prevent their relegation. He also worked as a representative for Adidas. He was German Sportsman of the year in 1964 and was elected to the German Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. He also was named to the German Olympic Committee in 1997. He was married twice, and his son Dirk was a professional soccer player.
Bio by: Kenneth Gilbert
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