Martin Lauer
Martin Lauer at the 1960 Olympics | ||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||
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Born | (1937-01-02)2 January 1937 Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Nazi Germany | |||||||||||
Died | 6 October 2019(2019-10-06) (aged 82) | |||||||||||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||
Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | |||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||
Event | 100 m | |||||||||||
Club | ASV Köln | |||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||
Personal best(s) | 100 m – 10.4 (1959) 200 m – 21.1 (1959) 110 mH – 13.2 (1959) 400 mH – 51.2 (1958) Dec – 7478 (1959)[1] | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Karl Martin Lauer (German pronunciation: [ˈmaʁtiːn ˈlaʊ̯ɐ] ⓘ; 2 January 1937 – 6 October 2019) was a West German sprinter who won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Biography
Lauer was a German champion in 110 m hurdles from 1956 to 1960 and in decathlon in 1956. At the 1956 Summer Olympics, he finished fourth in 110 m hurdles and fifth in decathlon. At the 1958 European Championships, he won the gold in 110 m hurdles. In 1958 Lauer also ran his first world record, in the 4 × 100 m relay. He set his second world record in 1959, this time in his main event of 110 m hurdles (13.2); this record stood until 1972. The same year he also set his personal best in decathlon and was ranked second in the world in this event.[1] At the end of the year he was named Athlete of the Year by the sports magazine Track & Field News, the first ever of the annual election.[2]
At the Rome Olympics Lauer was again fourth in 110 m hurdles and ran the anchoring leg for the German's 4 × 100 m relay team. In the final the Germans finished second behind the United States, but 15 minutes after the finish it was announced that the American team had been disqualified for an incorrect exchange. Germany's time, 39.5 seconds, equaled their own world record.[3]
After the Olympics Lauer was forced to retire from sports – a non-sterile injection resulted in sepsis and prospects of leg amputation. While visiting Lauer in hospital, his girlfriend and brother had a car crash, with the girlfriend dying immediately and his brother several years later. After recovering Lauer became a country singer and sold a few million copies of his 40+ records. His single "Taxi nach Texas" was awarded the Silver Lion of Radio Luxembourg in 1964. Lauer attended the 1964 Olympics as a journalist and the 1972 Olympics as a representative of the Junghans Company. He later worked as director of the German company Triumph-Adler.[1] Lauer died on 6 October 2019 at the age of 82.[4]
References
- ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Martin Lauer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ^ T&FN's World Men's Athletes of the Year Archived 2015-06-20 at WebCite, Track and Field News.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Athletics at the 1960 Roma Summer Games: Men's 4 × 100 metres Relay". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ^ Martin Lauer's obituary (in German)
External links
- Martin Lauer at Olympedia
- Martin Lauer at Olympics.com
- Martin Lauer at OlympicChannel.com (archived)
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Fritz Thiedemann | German Sportsman of the Year 1959 | Succeeded by Georg Thoma |
Preceded by — | Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1959 | Succeeded by Rafer Johnson |
- v
- t
- e
- 1912: David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Victor d'Arcy, Willie Applegarth (GBR)
- 1920: Charley Paddock, Jackson Scholz, Loren Murchison, Morris Kirksey (USA)
- 1924: Loren Murchison, Louis Clarke, Frank Hussey, Al LeConey (USA)
- 1928: Frank Wykoff, James Quinn, Charley Borah, Henry Russell (USA)
- 1932: Bob Kiesel, Emmett Toppino, Hector Dyer, Frank Wykoff (USA)
- 1936: Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper, Frank Wykoff (USA)
- 1948: Barney Ewell, Lorenzo Wright, Harrison Dillard, Mel Patton (USA)
- 1952: Dean Smith, Harrison Dillard, Lindy Remigino, Andy Stanfield (USA)
- 1956: Ira Murchison, Leamon King, Thane Baker, Bobby Morrow (USA)
- 1960: Bernd Cullmann, Armin Hary, Walter Mahlendorf, Martin Lauer (EUA)
- 1964: Paul Drayton, Gerry Ashworth, Richard Stebbins, Bob Hayes (USA)
- 1968: Charles Greene, Mel Pender, Ronnie Ray Smith, Jim Hines (USA)
- 1972: Larry Black, Robert Taylor, Gerald Tinker, Eddie Hart (USA)
- 1976: Harvey Glance, Lam Jones, Millard Hampton, Steve Riddick (USA)
- 1980: Vladimir Muravyov, Nikolay Sidorov, Aleksandr Aksinin, Andrey Prokofyev (URS)
- 1984: Sam Graddy, Ron Brown, Calvin Smith, Carl Lewis (USA)
- 1988: Viktor Bryzhin, Vladimir Krylov, Vladimir Muravyov, Vitaliy Savin (URS)
- 1992: Michael Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell, Carl Lewis, James Jett (USA)
- 1996: Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin, Donovan Bailey, Carlton Chambers (CAN)
- 2000: Jon Drummond, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis, Maurice Greene, Tim Montgomery, Kenny Brokenburr (USA)
- 2004: Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish, Mark Lewis-Francis (GBR)
- 2008: Keston Bledman, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callender, Richard Thompson, Aaron Armstrong (TTO)
- 2012: Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt, Bailey-Cole (JAM)
- 2016: Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, Nickel Ashmeade, Usain Bolt, Jevaughn Minzie, Kemar Bailey-Cole (JAM)
- 2020: Lorenzo Patta, Marcell Jacobs, Fausto Desalu, Filippo Tortu (ITA)
- 2024: Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, Andre De Grasse (CAN)