Lars Riedel

Lars Riedel
Personal information
Full nameLars Peter Riedel
Born28 June 1967 (1967-06-28) (age 56)
Zwickau, Saxony, East Germany
Height1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight110 kg (243 lb)
Sport
Country
  • East Germany (1986–1990)
  • Germany (1991–2006)
SportAthletics
EventDiscus throw
ClubUSC Mainz
LAC Erdgas Chemnitz
Achievements and titles
Personal best71.50 m (1997)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Discus
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Discus
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1991 Tokyo Discus
Gold medal – first place 1993 Stuttgart Discus
Gold medal – first place 1995 Gothenburg Discus
Gold medal – first place 1997 Athens Discus
Gold medal – first place 2001 Edmonton Discus
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Seville Discus
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Budapest Discus

Lars Peter Riedel (born 28 June 1967) a former German discus thrower. Riedel has the seventh longest discus throw of all-time with a personal best of 71.50 m.

Biography

Riedel began his discus career in the former German Democratic Republic. He grew up in Thurm which is next to Zwickau. In 1983, he went to join SC Karl-Marx-Stadt. His first important competitions were the IAAF World Junior Championship in 1986 and the European Championship in 1990. When the GDR went down Riedel stopped training regularly. Soon after Riedel met his coach Karlheinz Steinmetz from USC Mainz he began training once again. In the 1990s, he became a dominating figure on the German discus scene. With his good physical constitution (1.99 m, 115 kg) he took part in the Olympic Games of Atlanta. There he won his only Olympic title. Furthermore, he won the IAAF World Championship five times.

He is separated from his wife Kerstin. They have a son, Robert.

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Notes
Representing  East Germany
1986 World Junior Championships Athens, Greece 4th 58.16 m
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 15th (q) 59.28 m
Representing  Germany
1991 World Championships Tokyo, Japan 1st 66.20 m
1992 Olympic Games Barcelona, Spain 14th (q) 59.98 m
1993 World Championships Stuttgart, Germany 1st 67.72 m
1994 European Championships Helsinki, Finland 10th (q)[1] 58.66 m
1995 World Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 1st 68.76 m
1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, United States 1st 69.40 m
1997 World Championships Athens, Greece 1st 68.54 m
IAAF Grand Prix Final Fukuoka, Japan 1st 67.98 m
1998 European Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 67.07 m
1999 World Championships Seville, Spain 3rd 68.09 m
2000 Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 2nd 68.50 m
2001 World Championships Edmonton, Canada 1st 69.72 m
2003 World Championships Paris, France 4th 66.28 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece 7th 62.80 m
2005 World Championships Helsinki, Finland 9th 63.05 m
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 8th 64.11 m

In addition, he was the German champion 11 times.

References

  1. ^ Did not show in the final.

External links

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