Manfred Germar

Manfred Germar (front) wins in Dresden in 1955

Manfred Germar (born March 10, 1935 in Cologne ) is a former (West) German athlete, Olympic medalist and three-time European champion. He was successful in the 100 and 200 meter runs .

Sports

Germars parade route was the 200 meters, he has won 74 consecutive races since 1956. The series ended when he finished second behind Armin Hary at the 1958 European Championships in the 100-meter run - disappointing for him . On the 200-meter course, he became European champion in 1958 and also set a world record in the same year. In 1956 he was Olympic third with the 4 x 100 meter relay .

Together with Manfred Steinbach , Martin Lauer and Heinz Fütterer , he set a world record in the 4 x 100 meter run in 1958 (39.5 s). In the same year he set the 200 meter world record with 20.6 s.

At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where the German 4 x 100 meter relay was victorious, Manfred Germar lost his regular place as the relay final runner due to a form low (after injuries and a wisdom tooth operation).

From 1954 to 1962 it was used 123 times in 52 international competitions. At (West) German championships he won 23 German championship titles (1953 to 1964). In 1957 he was voted Sportsman of the Year in the Federal Republic. Manfred Germar started for ASV Cologne . In his playing days he was 1.82 m tall and weighed 74 kg.

Results at international highlights in detail

• 1954, European Championships : Disqualified with the 4 x 100 meter relay in the preliminary run
• 1956, Olympic Games : 3rd place with the 4 x 100 meter relay (40.3 s; together with Lothar Knörzer , Leonhard Pohl and Heinz Fütterer , Manfred Germar as the final runner); 5th place in the 100-meter run (injured)
• 1958, European Championships : 2nd place in the 100-meter run (10.4 s), 1st place in the 200-meter run (21.0 s), 1st place in the 4 x 100-meter relay (40, 2 s, together with Walter Mahlendorf , Armin Hary and Heinz Fütterer , Manfred Germar as final runner)
• 1960, Olympic Games : Eliminated in the heats to the 100-meter run and the 200-meter run or did not take part in the quarter-finals.
• 1962, European Championships : 1st place with the 4 x 100 meter relay (39.5 s, together with Klaus Ulonska , Peter Gamper and Hans-Joachim Bender , Manfred Germar as the final runner)

Private

Manfred Germar has been married since 1961 and has a daughter. He became a business graduate and initially worked in the head office of a department store chain and later for 30 years for a lottery company. After his career as an athlete, he became the managing director of his sports club ASV Köln in 1968 and was the organizer of the ASV World Class Sports Festival in Cologne until 1999 . From 1978 to 1997 he was president of the ASV Cologne. In his spare time he is a passionate golf player. He also enjoys spending time with his grandchildren.

Honors

• Honorary President of the ASV Cologne
• Silver Bay Leaf (1957)
• Sportsman of the year (1957)
• Rudolf Harbig Memorial Prize (1960)
• Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (April 10, 1984)
• Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (September 5, 1988)
• Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class (April 23, 1998)
• Carl Diem Shield (1999)
• Olympic Order (2001)
• Induction into the Hall of Fame of German Sports (2006)

literature

• Manfred Germar: The traces of my spikes . Limpert-Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1961 ( autobiography )

Web links

• Portrait, dates and biography of Manfred Germar in the Hall of Fame of German Sports
• Manfred Germar in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Golden Times , koelnsport.de, August 27, 2019
2. ^ Germar is tired, world class is leaving Cologne , welt.de , August 7, 1999
3. ↑ ^{a b} Information from the Federal President's Office
4. ↑ Merit holders since 1986. State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .