Martin Lauer

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Martin Lauer (1971)

Martin Lauer (born January 2, 1937 in Cologne ; † October 6, 2019 in Lauf an der Pegnitz ) was a German athlete , Olympic champion and pop singer .

Life

The 1.86 m tall and 76 kg heavy athlete, member of the ASV Köln sports club , was successful in the decathlon and as a hurdler over the 110 meter distance . As one of the few Europeans, the 16-time German champion was able to break into the phalanx of the United States , which until then had been almost overwhelming.

At the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 , he was fourth in the 110 meter hurdles and fifth in the decathlon.

On July 7, 1959, he set three world records in two runs in Zurich's Letzigrund within three quarters of an hour . First he set a best time of 13.2 s over the hurdle sprint distances of 110 meters and 120 yards (109.73 m), before he also set the best time over the 200-meter hurdles in 22.5 s after the previously defeated American Willie May had asked for revenge. His world record over the 110 meter hurdles lasted until July 6, 1973.

The end of 1959, Martin Lauer, who this year also the second-best decathlete has been around the world, the "Athlete of the Year" of the prestigious American athletics magazine Track & Field News named . He was the first athlete ever to be awarded this title and to this day remains the only German athlete to receive this award. For women, however, five German athletes have been awarded this title to date.

1960 Olympic Games

He traveled to the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome with health problems. Since he was only able to train to a limited extent due to an inflammation of the periosteum in his ankle, he had to do without a double start over 110 meter hurdles and in the decathlon. Nevertheless, he competed in his favorite discipline, the hurdle sprint over the 110 meters, and finished fourth like four years earlier. In the 4 x 100 meter relay , he won the gold medal alongside Bernd Cullmann , Armin Hary and Walter Mahlendorf in a world record time.

In his hometown, he sought medical treatment after the games; He was prescribed three syringes, which he had given to him because of the upcoming examination work in Munich , where he was studying mechanical engineering. It turned out that one of the syringes given had not been adequately sterilized , which led to blood poisoning and almost amputation of his leg. This was followed by a stay of almost a year in the hospital, which also meant the end of his active sports career. During this time, his girlfriend at the time also died in an accident. After a visit to his hospital bed on the motorway near Augsburg , she had an accident with his brother Fredy, who died years later of the consequences of the accident.

Career as a pop singer

The necessary treatments, but especially the processes because of medical malpractice against the insurance company of the hospital brought him into financial difficulties, so that, he started to make money in the hospital with writing song lyrics. “I was known as a singing athlete. Always had a guitar under his arm… “Completely exhausted from the legal dispute with the hospital, he finally agreed to a settlement that awarded him 45,000 marks in compensation, which, according to his own statement, did not cover the costs by far.

While he was still in hospital, Lauer sent tape recordings to music producer and songwriter Kurt Feltz . Feltz was enthusiastic, and Lauer signed a recording deal with Polydor after his release in January 1962 . In the same month the recordings for his first single Sacramento were made . With this and nine other country- style titles , Lauer was regularly represented in the German hit lists until 1966. A total of around six million of his records, with titles like Taxi to Texas , The Last Rose of the Prairie or If I Were a Cowboy, were sold. He has appeared in several television shows with well-known artists, including Lou van Burg , Udo Jürgens and Peter Alexander .

Further professional positions

In the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, he was a journalist working. After completing his engineering studies at the TH Munich , which he had to interrupt for two years due to his illness, he worked as a specialist in the sodium cooling of nuclear reactors ; For example, he helped design the fast breeder in Kalkar . He also worked on the conception of the first microcomputer and was responsible for the introduction of electronic timekeeping at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich . Other fields of activity of Lauer were the management of a holding company as well as his work as a management consultant and columnist for various newspapers. From 1973 he worked at Triumph-Adler , from 1976 on as an authorized signatory . In the meantime - from 1983 to 1986 - he also worked as the head of a computer and office technology project for Quelle . From 1986 until his retirement in 1988, he returned to Triumph-Adler and was responsible for the major customers division. For many years he helped to organize the internationally known sports festival of ASV Köln .

Private

Lauer was married and lived in Lauf an der Pegnitz from 1977 after completing his studies . He had a son (* 1970) who started as a track and field athlete for Quelle Fürth , and a daughter and three grandchildren. Martin Lauer was first chairman of the athletics club LG Lauf-Pegnitzgrund from 1978 to 2011 and was committed to the next generation. In Lauf an der Pegnitz, Lauer was a member of the city council for several years.

Sporting successes

  • Eight German youth championship titles, five of them in a single championship
  • 17 German championships in different disciplines (110 m hurdles, 200 m hurdles, decathlon, 4 × 100 m relay)
  • In 1958 he became European champion over 110 m hurdles.
  • July 7, 1959: 2 world records at the meeting in Zurich's Letzigrund.
  • On 29./30. In August 1959, Martin Lauer set a German decathlon record at the German Championships in Düsseldorf with 7955 points
  • 1960 gold medal with the German 4 × 100 m relay at the Olympic Games in Rome

Audio

Books

  • 1963: From my point of view. Artis-Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach. DNB 452725038 (autobiography.)
  • 1972: The best in the world trust Junghans. Junghans brothers, Schramberg. (Text-image tape.)

Discography

LPs

CDs

  • Taxi to Texas (1989; Bear Family Records)

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE AT AT
1962 Sacramento
I gave my heart 		DE27 (12 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
The last rose of the prairie
The blue mountains 		DE10 (20 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
1963 If I were a cowboy
let me go Madeleine 		DE9 (12 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
Jim and Joe (two pairs of shoes)
Don't go with me 		DE20 (12 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
Unfortunately at the campfire
 DE19 (12 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
1964 His best horse
horses and saddles 		DE5 (20 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
Taxi to Texas
I know the world 		DE7 (10 weeks)
DE 		AT1 (12 weeks)
AT
Label: Polydor
1965 John Brown's Baby
King John 		DE23 (8 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
Silver Dollars
This is the big road 		DE26 (8 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
1966 Roll 'em Over (He always hits exactly)
Cowboy Lady 		DE30 (4 weeks)
DE 		-
Label: Polydor
Mamutschka
Oh, Serenader 		- -
Label: Polydor
1967 Beat and red roses
my darling 		- -
Label: Polydor
Roses without thorns
You are wonderful 		- -
Label: Polydor
1968 Roses and kisses
rose red 		- -
Label: Polydor
At first it always hurts.
Where is the lifelong companion 		- -
Label: Polydor

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Awards

Web links

Commons : Martin Lauer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Neumann: German athletics mourn Martin Lauer , Leichtathletik.de, October 6, 2019.
  2. ↑ On the death of Martin Lauer: All-rounders at an exceptional level , Süddeutsche Zeitung , October 7, 2019.
  3. ↑ a b c d e cf. Express : "There was a set of car tires for the record". January 2, 2007, p. 30 (for his 70th birthday)
  4. ↑ a b The fastest day in Martin Lauer's life on the Deutsche Welle website on July 7, 2009.
  5. ↑ Athletics - National: 100m Olympic Champion Hary celebrates his 70th birthday on focus.de on March 22, 2007.
  6. ↑ Only a syringe could stop the young hopper , welt.de , January 2, 1997
  7. ↑ Stefanie Buchner-Freiberger: Olympic Games 1972: The " times maker " of Munich n-land.de, September 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ Information about Martin Lauer at kress.de
  9. ↑ Gold medalists from 1960 reunited: “Veterans' meeting” at Martin Lauer's in Lauf , n-land.de, August 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ Successful marathon for KiO August 22, 2008.
  11. ↑ Martin Lauer - Still close to the wind at 75 , Leichtathletik.de, January 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ Martin Lauer turns 70 - ups and downs , Leichtathletik.de, January 2, 2007
  13. ↑ a b c Peter Schmidt: What does ... Martin Lauer actually do? , magazine forum, accessed on October 9, 2019.
  14. ↑ Weltklasse Zürich: Over 80 years of history , lcz.ch, accessed on October 9, 2019.
  15. ↑ Charts DE Charts AT
  16. ↑ Lauer: Like never before . In: Der Spiegel . No. 43 , 1960 ( online - Oct. 19, 1960 ).
  17. ↑ Merit holders since 1986. (PDF) State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .
  18. ↑ Three world records in 53 minutes: Athlete Martin Lauer dead , br.de, October 6, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Lauer, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German athlete, Olympic champion and pop singer
DATE OF BIRTH January 2, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 2019
Place of death Run on the Pegnitz