Dietmar Lorenz

Dietmar Lorenz
Dietmar Lorenz, bronze medalist at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Born(1950-09-23)23 September 1950
Langenbuch, Saxony, East Germany
Died8 September 2021(2021-09-08) (aged 70)
OccupationJudoka
Sport
CountryEast Germany
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍93 kg, ‍–‍95 kg, Open
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesGold (1980)
World Champ.Bronze (1973, 1975)
European Champ.Gold (1975, 1977, 1978,
Gold( 1978)
Profile at external databases
IJF54287
JudoInside.com5608
Updated on 20 June 2023

Dietmar Lorenz (23 September 1950 – 8 September 2021) was an East German judoka, who competed for SC Dynamo Hoppegarten under the Sportvereinigung Dynamo.[1]

Lorenz was born in the Saxon village of Langenbuch (Plauen rural district),[2][3] which was incorporated into the newly founded Thuringian Schleiz district through the district government reorganization of 1952 in the GDR. After starting at home, he came via SV Dynamo Schleiz to SC Dynamo Hoppegarten, the sports club of the Volkspolizei, in 1969. He won medals at major international competitions, taking gold at the European Judo Championships and the World Judo Championships. He won as the first German at the Olympics and the Jigoro Kano Cup. As a member of the East German Olympic team, he took part in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.[4] These games were boycotted by some countries, including Japan, whose Yasuhiro Yamashita and Sumio Endo were the reigning World Heavyweight and Open Class champions respectively.

He went as an outsider in the "Open Class" at the start. To the surprise of all judo experts, he defeated the favored opponents and won the final battle against Angelo Parisi of France, who was twelve kilos heavier than him.

He was later a coach for children at SC Berlin. He wore the nanadan (七段:ななだん): seventh degree black belt (also, shichidan), a component of the Dan rank.[5][6]

Lorenz died on 8 September 2021, aged 70.[7]

  1. ^ "Budoverein Dynamo-Hoppegarten | Der Judo-Doktor und Ehrenmitglied von Dynamo Hoppegarten wird 70:". Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
  2. ^ "Michael Rademacher: Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte von der Reichseinigung 1871 bis zur Wiedervereinigung 1990". Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  3. ^ Langenbuch im Digitalen Historischen Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dietmar Lorenz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  5. ^ Geschichte[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Heinrich Göbel Oberschule[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Judoka Dietmar Lorenz ist gestorben, Erster deutscher Judo-Olympiasieger". Sportschau (in German). 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.