Hans-Peter Gies

Hans-Peter Gies in June 1972

Hans-Peter Gies (born May 9, 1947 in Berlin ) is a former German athlete and Olympian who started for the GDR .

Hans-Peter Gies was the GDR champion in shot put in 1969, 1972 and 1976 . In these three years he was always present at the highlight of the season. At the European Championships in 1969 he won the bronze medal behind Dieter Hoffmann and Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg , both also from the GDR. At the 1972 Olympic Games he finished fourth with 21.14 m and was only four centimeters behind the Olympic champion Władysław Komar from Poland, he missed the bronze medal with the same distance with Hartmut Briesenick (GDR) because of the smaller distance of his second best attempt. In 1976 , Gies was again fifth in the Olympics with 20.47 m.

In 1969 Gies broke the European record with 20.64 m. He achieved his best of 21.31 m in 1972.

Hans-Peter Gies belonged to the SC Dynamo Berlin . With a height of 1.94 m, his competition weight was 105 kg. Gies' left leg was 5 cm shorter than the right one, so he had to use special insoles. Gies used the support joint technique and was considered one of the best technicians of his time. According to his own information, his best bench press performance was 235 kg despite long levers.