Günter Stratmann

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Günter Stratmann (born January 8, 1931 in Hamm ) is a former German fencer . Besides Erwin Casmir , he was the only German fencer who could win the German championship with all three weapons. At the Olympic Games in 1956 he took part in all three individual disciplines after no other fencer could travel to Melbourne for financial reasons. He first fought at TuS Hamm, later at FSG Iserlohn . His son Jörg Stratmann was also a successful fencer and took part in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Athletic career

Stratmann started his fencing career at TuS Hamm after watching the fencing training taking place next door during a table tennis training session. In 1951 and 1952 he won the German junior championship with the sword. He then moved to FSG Iserlohn. Despite winning the pre-Olympic tournament in Berlin and being appointed to the national team, he was not nominated for the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 . Nevertheless, he was considered the greatest talent in German fencing since Erwin Casmir and won several important international tournaments. At the German championships in 1955 he was double winner in foil and saber, 1956 again champion with the saber and second with the foil. As the most successful participant, he represented Germany in international matches against Poland, at the 1955 World Championships in Rome he was 12th in foil and was the first German to reach the semi-finals at a World Cup after World War II.

In 1956 Günter Stratmann was nominated as the only German fencer for the Olympic Games in Melbourne. Attempts by the DFB Presidium, at least for Ilse Keydel , who was third in the 1953 World Cup , failed to participate. In the end, Stratmann was only accompanied to Australia by President Erwin Casmir. Accordingly, he lacked training partners for the preparation, even the box with his equipment arrived late, so that he had to contest the first two competitions in foil and epee with borrowed or newly purchased weapons and clothing.

Despite the adverse circumstances, he reached the semi-finals with foil and saber and narrowly missed the finals in ninth place with only one missing win. In the sword he is eliminated after the third round. Thanks to his good performance, he was then awarded the silver plaque of honor of the DFB.

At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Stratmann, who seldom fenced in the national team because of injuries and concentration on his professional career, was no longer taken into account. In 1962 he surprisingly won the German epee championship again, in 1963 he was nominated for the last time for the world championships before ending his fencing career.

In his private life, Stratmann worked as an industrial clerk and had five children. Three of his children also fought, his son Jörg , like his father, won multiple German saber fencing championships and took part in the Olympic Games in 1984.

Fencing style

Stratmann was considered a great talent who was successful without regular lessons from important fencing masters. He was characterized by speed and a good feeling for the right moment to set attacks (sense of tempo). An observer from the fencing section of the GDR confirmed that he had an excellent sense of tempo, good technique and great concentration.

successes

Olympic games

  • 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne: Epee single: 3rd round, foil single: 9th place, saber single: 9th place.

World championships

German championships

  • 1955 : foil single: 1st place, saber single: 1st place.
  • 1956 : foil single: 2nd place, saber single: 1st place.
  • 1962 : Epee single: 1st place.

Others

  • Winner of the pre-Olympic tournament in Berlin in 1952.
  • 2nd place in the international sword tournament “Jäger von Soest”.
  • Winner of the saber tournaments in Nordwijk, Zurich and Salzburg.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jörg Stratmann: The 50s and 60s, in: Deutscher Fechter-Bund (Ed.), Andreas Schirmer (Red.): En Garde! Allez! Touchez! 100 Years of Fencing in Germany - A Success Story, Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2012. pp. 79–91, here pp. 80f.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Jörg Stratmann: The 50s and 60s, in: Deutscher Fechter-Bund (Ed.), Andreas Schirmer (Red.): En Garde! Allez! Touchez! 100 Years of Fencing in Germany - A Success Story, Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2012. pp. 79–91, here pp. 81–84.
  3. ↑ Jörg Stratmann in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available).
  4. ↑ a b Jörg Stratmann: The 50s and 60s, in: Deutscher Fechter-Bund (Ed.), Andreas Schirmer (Red.): En Garde! Allez! Touchez! 100 Years of Fencing in Germany - A Success Story, Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2012. pp. 79–91, here p. 81.
  5. ↑ Tables in: Deutscher Fechter-Bund (Ed.), Andreas Schirmer (Red): En Garde! Allez! Touchez! 100 Years of Fencing in Germany - A Success Story , Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2012. Page 218ff.
personal data
SURNAME Stratmann, Günter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German fencer, German champion and Olympic participant
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamm