Andreas Schnieders

Andreas "Drago" Schnieders (born December 22, 1966 in Lastrup ) is a former German amateur heavyweight boxer .

Private

Andreas Schnieders is the son of a nurse and a truck driver.

After leaving school, he first completed an apprenticeship as a car mechanic. In the Bundeswehr he was a member of the sports promotion company.

Career

For years, Andreas Schnieders, who is 2.04 meters tall and weighs 108 kg, was regarded as the greatest German hope in amateur boxing. "Drago" Schnieders started boxing in Haselünne in November 1981. He played his first boxing match in October 1982. He was German super heavyweight champion six times in a row from 1987 to 1992 and took part in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, where he was defeated by the Poles Janusz Zarenkiewicz . In 1991 Schnieders won the silver medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg . In the semifinals, he had prevailed against the Dane Brian Nielsen .

In February 1992 Schnieders lost to Willi Fischer from Frankfurt in a Bundesliga match ; For the first time in his career he was knocked out by an opponent . According to the rules of the DABV (German Amateur Boxing Association), there was a four-week ban. The associated neurological examination discovered three cysts in Schnieder's meninges, whereupon the DABV banned him for life. Schnieder, however, was able to have the ban lifted, as there were no medical concerns about continuing his career.

He received a nomination for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, ​​but after another knockout loss to Croatian Željko Mavrović (and a resulting renewed ban) he was denied participation. Schnieders could not psychologically cope with the sporting defeats and seemed to be about to end his career. The renewed win of the championship title silenced the critics for a short time, but already in the next two fights followed heavy defeats: against the Bulgarian Swilen Rusinow Schnieders was counted three times, against the Lithuanian Gitas Juskevicius he gave up prematurely. Already in the run-up to the fight against the Lithuanian, Schnieder's mental problems had come to light. T. strong psychoses. His Bundesliga club, the Boxring Berlin, felt compelled to exclude him from further fights.

At the beginning of 1993, Schnieders moved to the Bundesliga season at Bayer 04 Leverkusen . But even with his new club he could not build on his old successes. After further defeats, he ended his career in 1994. He played his last fight in October 1994 against René Monse and lost on points.

Andreas Schnieders played 158 fights, of which he won 130.

After boxing

Andreas Schnieders now lives with his wife and two children in Lingen (Ems) , where he works full-time in the security department of a nuclear power plant. In his spare time he actively trains the boxing offspring in Haselünne. “When I look back today, I am already satisfied with my career. Unfortunately, I had to end my career for orthopedic reasons and could no longer switch to professional business, ”reports Schnieders. “At the time I was said to be sick, but that was not true. I just didn't have the nerve to put it all away. The media pressure was just too great. At that time I had also paid more attention to my professional training and could no longer concentrate so much on boxing, ”Schnieders looks back.

Nickname

He got the nickname "Drago" in reference to the Soviet boxer played by Dolph Lundgren in the movie Rocky IV , because he was reminiscent of his appearance.

literature

• Drago from the Emsland . In: Der Spiegel . No. 5 , 1993, p. 162-166 ( Online - Feb. 1, 1993 ).