Harald Schmid (athlete)

Harald Schmid
Harald Schmid at the Int. Athletics Sports Festival Cologne, 1981
nation	Germany
birthday	29th September 1957 (age 62)
place of birth	Hanau , Germany
size	187 cm
Weight	83 kg
Career
discipline	400 m hurdles 400 m 4 × 400 m relay
Best performance	400 m hurdles: 47.48 s 400 m: 44.92 s
society	TV Gelnhausen
status	resigned
Medal table
Olympic games 0 × 0 × 2 × World championships 0 × 2 × 1 × European championships 5 × 1 × 0 × Universiade 1 × 0 × 0 ×
Olympic games bronze Montreal 1976 4 × 400 m bronze Los Angeles 1984 400 m H  World championships silver Helsinki 1983 400 m H silver Helsinki 1983 4 × 400 m bronze Rome 1987 400 m H  European championships gold Prague 1978 400 m H gold Prague 1978 4 × 400 m gold Athens 1982 400 m H gold Athens 1982 4 × 400 m gold Stuttgart 1986 400 m H silver Stuttgart 1986 4 × 400 m  Universiade gold Mexico City 1979 400 m  German championships gold 12 times: 1977 , 1978 , 1980 , 1981 , 1982 , 1983 , 1984 , 1985 , 1986 , 1987 , 1988 , 1989 400 m H gold Stuttgart 1979 400 m

Harald Schmid (born September 29, 1957 in Hanau ) is a former German athlete and multiple Olympic medalist.

Sports

Schmid was one of the best 400-meter hurdlers in the world and one of the best athletes in Germany. His career was shaped a. a. through the duels with the exceptional runner Edwin Moses in the late 1970s to mid 1980s. In Europe , he dominated the 400 meter hurdles for almost a decade and during this time he was always one of the best three, usually two, runners in the world. In his training he was self-taught and could not be included in an association's training scheme, not even at the DLV . For over a decade, he has always been able to deliver his best performance at the peak of the season.

Even as a teenager he was one of the top German leaders in the 400 meter and 400 meter hurdles. At the age of 18, Schmid first took part in the Olympic Games in Montréal in 1976 . As a member of the 4 x 400 meter relay , he won the bronze medal ( Franz-Peter Hofmeister , Lothar Krieg , Harald Schmid, Bernd Herrmann , 3: 01.98 min). He also set a new junior world record this year with 49.61 s. In 1977 he reached the European Cup over 400 meter hurdles in 49.27 s place 2 behind Volker Beck (48.90 s). Schmid also confirmed the level of performance he had gained in the first World Cup and was third in 48.85 s behind Edwin Moses (47.58 s) and Volker Beck (48.83 s).

In 1978 Schmid won his first international title. In Prague he became European champion over 400 meter hurdles (48.51 s) and with the 4 x 400 meter relay ( Martin Weppler , Franz-Peter Hofmeister , Bernd Herrmann , Harald Schmid, 3: 02.03 min). A year later Schmid set a new milestone. At the European Cup in Turin he was the first European to undercut the 48-second mark with 47.85 seconds, thus improving the eleven-year European record set by the Briton David Hemery . Just under an hour after this success, Schmid also won the 400 m in 45.31 seconds. At the 1979 World Cup , he finished second in 48.53 s behind Edwin Moses (47.71 s).

In 1980, due to the Olympic boycott, everything turned out differently than planned, Schmid, like many other athletes, was denied the chance to win an Olympic precious metal. And the 1981 season also went differently than planned for him because of hepatitis , which turned out to be a weak performance at the European Cup (second in 49.12 s) for him.

In 1982 Schmid got back on the road to success. At the European Championships in Athens he defended his title as European champion and improved his own European record to 47.48 s. As in 1978, he was also able to become European champion again with the German 4 x 400 meter relay ( Erwin Skamrahl , Harald Schmid, Thomas Giessing , Hartmut Weber , 3: 00.51 min). There were also two medals at the first ever World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 1983 . Schmid won silver over the 400 meter hurdles (48.61 s behind Edwin Moses , 47.50 s) as well as with the German 4 x 400 meter relay (Erwin Skamrahl, Jörg Vaihinger , Harald Schmid, Hartmut Weber , 3: 01.83 min).

In 1984 Schmid took part in the Olympics for the second time and won the bronze medal on his special route in 48.19 s behind Edwin Moses (47.75 s) and Danny Harris (48.13 s). In the European and continental cups in 1985, which are now slowly losing importance, Schmid was again very far ahead: European Cup in Moscow : 1st place in very good 47.85 seconds / World Cup in Canberra : 3rd place in 48.84 s.

It continued in 1986 with the European Championships in their own country ( Stuttgart ). Here Schmid was European champion over 400 meter hurdles (48.65 s) for the third time in a row and won with the German 4 x 400 meter relay ( Klaus Just , Edgar Itt , Harald Schmid, Ralf Lübke , 3: 00.17 min) the silver medal behind Great Britain (2: 59.84 min). In 1987, the second World Athletics Championships were on the program in Rome . Here there was one of the most exciting and high quality finals over 400 meter hurdles ever. Harald Schmid was third two hundredths of a second behind Edwin Moses and Danny Harris at the same time . Schmid set his own European record with 47.48 seconds.

Then his international career slowly came to an end. In 1988 Schmid took part again at the Olympic Games , but started here after an infection with a lack of training. Nevertheless, he reached the final and finished seventh in 48.76 s. In 1989 he was second at the European Cup in Gateshead (49.26 s). In 1990 Schmid ended his sports career shortly before the German championships after he discovered that he could barely undercut the 49-second mark.

Schmid always started for TV Gelnhausen until the end of his career . At a height of 1.87 m, he had a competition weight of 83 kg.

Track record:

• Olympic Games: 1976 bronze 4 × 400 m (3: 01.98 min) / 1984 bronze 400 m hurdles (48.19 s), 1988 seventh 400 m hurdles (48.76 s)
• World Championships: 1983 - 2 times silver (400 m hurdles, 48.65 s; 4 × 400 m, 3: 01.83 min) / 1987 - bronze 400 m hurdles (48.61 s)
• European Championships: 1978 - 2 times gold (400 m hurdles, 48.51 s; 4 × 400 m, 3: 02.03 min) / 1982 - 2 times gold (400 m hurdles, 47.48 s; 4 × 400 m, 3: 00.51 min) / 1986 - gold 400 m hurdles (48.65 s); Silver 4 × 400 m (3:00, 17 min)
• World Cup: 1977 - third 400 m hurdles (48.85 s); Winner 4 × 400 m (3: 01.3 min) / 1979 - second 400 m hurdles (48.53 s) / 1985 third 400 m hurdles (48.84 s)
• European Cup: 1977 - second 400 m hurdles (49.27 s), 1979 - 3-time winner (400 m, 45.31 s; 400 m hurdles, 47.85 s; 4 × 400 m, 3: 02.3 min ) / 1981 - second 400 m hurdles (49.12 s) / 1983 - winner 400 m hurdles (48.56 s) 1985 - twice winner (400 m hurdles, 47.85 s; 4 × 400 m, 3: 00.36 min) / 1987 - winner 400 m hurdles (48.67 s) / 1989 - second 400 m hurdles (49.26 s)
• German championships: 12-time winner of 400 m hurdles (1977, 1978, 1980–1989), winner of 400 m (1979)

Best times: 200 m - 20.68 s (1987) / 400 m - 44.92 s (1979) / 800 m - 1: 44.83 min (1987) / 400 m hurdles - 47.48 s (1982 and 1987)

Other activities

Schmid lives in Hasselroth and was temporarily a sports teacher at the grammar school in neighboring Gelnhausen. The sports scientist with a doctorate was appointed to the Athletes Committee of the International Association of Athletics Federations in 1999 .

Since 1995 he has been involved in the “Make children strong” campaign run by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). With the addiction prevention campaign “Make children strong”, the BZgA addresses all adults who are responsible for children and young people. Not only parents and teachers, but also trainers and supervisors in sports clubs are important confidants who can strengthen and support children in their development. That is why the Federal Headquarters has been working for years with sports associations with a large number of members: German Olympic Sports Association (DOSB), German Football Association (DFB), German Gymnastics Association (DTB), German Handball Association (DHB), German Athletics Association (DLV) and DJK-Sportjugend. In seminars, conferences and training courses, he gives lectures and leads training courses for speakers from sports associations on the subject of “making children strong”.

Schmid is a member of the jury of the annual Schlappekicker Prize of the Frankfurter Rundschau , with which, among other things, socially and integratively acting individuals, groups and associations are honored.

Today he runs a PR agency and the Galenos Institute for Health Promotion. He brings his experience from high-performance sport to an extensive teaching position and in programs for health prevention and performance motivation for companies and sports associations. In addition, he has also appeared as editor.

Honors

• In 1979 and 1987 Schmid was athlete of the year .
• In 1987 he was awarded the Rudolf Harbig Memorial Prize.
• In 1989 Schmid received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon.
• In July 2016 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of German Sports .
• Awarded the Golden Ribbon in 2018 for his social commitment.

Video links

• 1982 European 400 m Hurdles - Harald Schmidt , uploaded on February 7, 2009 on the website youtube.com
• World Cup 1987 Rome: 400 m hurdles final with Harald Schmid , Gerd Rubenbauer, video for the World Cup final 400 m hurdles 1987 on the website sportschau.de

Web links

• Harald Schmid in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Literature by and about Harald Schmid in the catalog of the German National Library
• www.harald-schmid.com
• Munzinger biography Harald Schmid , international sports archive 12/2008 from March 18, 2008 (ph), supplemented by news from MA-Journal up to week 22/2016
• German EM faces (VI): Harald Schmid collects five EM gold medals
• Between thumb and forefinger - Robert Hartmann writes about the 400 m hurdles and the 110 m hurdles in Rome 1987 - Edwin Moses and Harald Schmid - The running retrospect - Part IV , Sports Museum July 25, 2009 on the website germanroadraces.de
• In conversation: Harald Schmid “I've never cheated myself” , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 7, 2017, on the website faz.net
• European hurdle champion Harald Schmid: "What exactly is this fairness?" , Deutsche Sporthilfe, Hall of Fame of German Sports, August 25, 2016 on the website hall-of-fame-sport.de
• Harald Schmid's biography on the website whoswho.de
• 30 years ago, Harald Schmid defeated Edwin Moses on September 13, 2007 on the website Leichtathletik.de
• Athletics Sun Heals , Der Spiegel 33/1979, August 13, 1979 on the website spiegel.de
• Dr. Harald Schmid on the trainer-promotion.de website
• Dr. Harald Schmid, making children strong for a life free of addiction on the website kinderstarkmachen.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Munzinger biography Harald Schmid , Internationales Sportarchiv 12/2008 from March 18, 2008 (ph), supplemented by news from MA-Journal up to week 22/2016
2. ↑ https://ehrenamt.dosb.de/news/details/news/harald-schmid-engagement-rechnet-sich/?tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=0328a11f5a26f6b606d6448583
3. ↑ Award of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on February 7, 1989 . In: The Hessian Prime Minister (Ed.): State Gazette for the State of Hesse. 1989 No. 8 , p. 510 , 204 ( online at the information system of the Hessian state parliament [PDF; 6.5 MB ]).
4. ↑ message 24 05 2016. In: www.hall-of-fame-sport.de. Retrieved July 17, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Alexandra Dersch: Flash News of the Day - Harald Schmid receives "Goldenes Ribbon" for social commitment , notes, on: Leichtathletik.de, November 15, 2018, accessed November 21, 2018