Germany at the Paralympics

Summary

Germany (GER) participated in the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where it sent a delegation of nine athletes. The country, since 1949 officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), was until 1990 also called West Germany while the separate East German Democratic Republic (GDR) existed, which was recognized by the IOC only after 1964. East German athletes, however, participated in the Paralympics for the first and last time in 1984. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, athletes from all of Germany compete simply as Germany (GER) again.[1]

Germany at the
Paralympics
IPC codeGER
NPCNational Paralympic Committee Germany
Websitewww.dbs-npc.de (in German)
Medals
Gold
658
Silver
649
Bronze
609
Total
1,916
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Other related appearances
 East Germany (1984)

Germany has participated in every edition of the Summer Paralympics, and has also taken part in every edition of the Winter Paralympics, from the first in 1976. Germany was the host country of the 1972 Summer Paralympics, in Heidelberg.[2]

East Germany, West Germany and Germany have won a total of 1915 Paralympic medals, of which 658 gold, 649 silver and 609 bronze. This is more than any country other than the United States and Great Britain. The International Paralympic Committee, however, maintains separate records for "West Germany" (1960–88) and "Germany" (1992–present), due to their separate IPC codes, giving West Germany a total of 938 medals (354 golds), and Germany a total of 973 (304 golds). This places the "two countries" seventh and eighth, respectively, on the all-time Paralympic Games medal table - behind the United States, Great Britain, China, Canada, Australia, and France.[3]

Germany has consistently been one of the world's strongest nations at the Paralympics. Prior to 2008, at the Summer Games, it had always been among the top ten on the medal tables, and was within the top three on six occasions. In 2008,they finished in the 11th place. At the Winter Games, Germany has always been among the top three, except in 1980 (7th), 1984 (4th) and 2018 (5th). It topped the medal table at the 1972 Summer Paralympics (which it hosted), and the 1976, 2002 and 2010 Winter Games.[4]

Among Germany's most successful Paralympians are[5]

  • Reinhild Möller, winner of 19 medals (of which 16 gold) in alpine skiing, and 4 medals (of which 3 are gold) in athletics
  • Claudia Hengst: 25 medals (of which 13 gold) in swimming
  • Gerd Schönfelder: 17 medals (of which 12 gold) in alpine skiing
  • Frank Höfle: 17 medals (of which 10 gold) in cross-country skiing.

Medal tallies edit

These tallies include the results for both "Germany" and "West Germany". They do not include the four medals of East Germany at the Paralympics.

Summer Paralympics edit

 
Elfriede Ranz (Pilot) and Ursula Egner of Germany on the medal dais after winning silver in the Women's tandem Kilo on the track at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games.
Event Gold Silver Bronze Total Ranking
  Rome 1960 15 6 9 30 3rd
  Tokyo 1964 5 2 5 12 9th
  Tel Aviv 1968 12 12 11 35 6th
  Heidelberg 1972 28 17 22 67 1st
  Toronto 1976 37 34 26 97 4th
  Arnhem 1980 68 48 46 161 3rd
   Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 81 76 75 232 5th
  Seoul 1988 76 65 52 193 2nd
  Barcelona 1992 61 51 59 171 2nd
  Atlanta 1996 40 58 51 149 3rd
  Sydney 2000 16 41 38 95 10th
  Athens 2004 19 28 31 78 8th
  Beijing 2008 14 25 20 59 11th
  London 2012 18 26 22 66 8th
  Rio de Janeiro 2016 18 25 14 57 6th
  Tokyo 2020 13 12 18 43 12th
  Paris 2024 future event
  Los Angeles 2028 future event
Total 521 526 499 1546 4th

Winter Paralympics edit

Event Gold Silver Bronze Total Ranking
  Örnsköldsvik 1976 10 12 6 28 1st
  Geilo 1980 3 6 9 18 7th
  Innsbruck 1984 10 14 10 34 4th
  Innsbruck 1988 9 11 10 30 3rd
  Albertville & Tignes 1992 12 17 9 38 2nd
  Lillehammer 1994 25 21 18 64 2nd
  Nagano 1998 14 17 13 44 2nd
  Salt Lake City 2002 17 1 15 33 1st
  Turin 2006 8 5 5 18 2nd
  Vancouver 2010 13 5 6 24 1st
  Sochi 2014 9 5 1 15 2nd
  Pyeongchang 2018 7 8 4 19 5th
  Beijing 2022 4 8 7 19 7th
Total 140 130 112 382 1st

Records edit

These records include West Germany at the Paralympics.

Summer Paralympics edit

Active athletes are in bold.

Multi medalists

German athletes who have won more than three golds or more than five medals.

No. Athlete Sport Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Claudia Hengst   Swimming 1988-2004 5 F 13 4 8 25
2 Marianne Buggenhagen   Athletics 1992-2016 7 F 9 2 3 14
3 Jochen Wollmert   Table tennis 1992-2012 6 M 5 2 3 10
4 Robert Figl   Athletics 1988-2004 5 M 5 1 6 12
5 Wojtek Czyz   Athletics 2004-2012 3 M 4 1 2 7
5 Heinrich Köberle   Athletics 1984-2000 5 M 4 1 0 5
6 Peter Haber   Athletics 1992-2000 3 M 3 5 0 8
7 Martina Willing   Athletics 1992-2016 7 F 3 4 5 12
8 Daniela Schulte   Swimming 1996-2012 5 F 3 4 1 8
9 Britta Jänicke   Athletics 1988-2000 4 F 3 1 2 6
10 Jessica Sachse   Athletics 1988-2004 5 F 2 3 3 8
11 Ramona Brussig   Judo 2004-2016 4 F 2 2 1 5
12 Horst Beyer   Athletics 1992-2000 3 M 2 1 2 5
13 Jörg Frischmann   Athletics 1992-2000 3 M 1 2 2 5
Multi medalists at single Games

German athletes who have won more than two golds at a single Games. Categorised by medals earned, sports then year.

No. Athlete Sport Year Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Claudia Hengst   Swimming 1988 F 6 0 0 6
2 Marianne Buggenhagen   Athletics 1992 F 4 0 0 4
3 Jessica Sachse   Athletics 1992 F 2 0 0 2
Multi medals at single event

German athletes who have won more than two golds at a single event in the Summer Paralympics. Categorised by medals earned, sports then gold medals earned.

No. Athlete Sport Event Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Heinrich Köberle   Athletics Marathon 1984-2000 5 M 4 1 0 5
2 Jochen Wollmert   Table tennis Singles 1992-2012 6 M 3 2 1 6
3 Marianne Buggenhagen   Athletics Discus throw 1992-2016 7 F 3 1 0 4
4 Siegmund Hegeholz   Athletics Javelin throw 1992-2004 4 M 2 2 0 4
Most appearances

German athletes who have competed in four or more Paralympic Games. Aged under 15 or over 40 are in bold.

No. Athlete Sport Birth Year Games Years First/Last Age Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Marianne Buggenhagen   Athletics 1953 1992-2016 39 - 63 F 9 2 3 14
2 Martina Willing   Athletics 1959 1992-2020 33 - 61 F 3 4 5 12
3 Heinrich Köberle   Athletics 1946 1984-2000 38 - 54 M 4 1 0 5
4 Jochen Wollmert   Table tennis 1964 1992-2012 28 - 48 M 5 2 3 10
5 Robert Figl   Athletics 1967 1988-2004 21 - 37 M 5 1 6 12

Winter Paralympics edit

Multi medalists

German athletes who have won three gold medals or more than five medals.

No. Athlete Sport Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Gerd Schönfelder   Alpine skiing 1992-2010 6 M 16 4 2 22
2 Reinhild Möller   Alpine skiing 1980-2006 8 F 16 2 1 19
3 Frank Höfle   Biathlon
  Cross-country skiing
1988-2002 5 M 13 5 3 21
4 Verena Bentele   Biathlon
  Cross-country skiing
1998-2010 4 F 12 2 2 16
5 Martin Braxenthaler   Alpine skiing 1998-2010 4 M 10 1 1 12
6 Anna Schaffelhuber   Alpine skiing 2010-2018 3 F 7 1 1 9
7 Thomas Oelsner   Biathlon 1994-2006 4 M 5 4 1 10
8 Andrea Rothfuss   Alpine skiing 2006-2018 4 F 1 9 3 12
Multi medals at single Games

German athletes who have won two golds in a single Games. Categorised by medals earned, sports then year.

No. Athlete Sport Year Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Verena Bentele   Biathlon
  Cross-country skiing
2010 F 5 0 0 5
Anna Schaffelhuber   Alpine skiing 2014 F 5 0 0 5
3 Gerd Schönfelder   Alpine skiing 2010 M 4 1 0 5
Multi medals at single event

German athletes who have won two golds in a single event in the Winter Paralympics. Categorised by medals earned, sports then gold medals earned.

No. Athlete Sport Event Years Games Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Frank Höfle   Biathlon 7.5km 1992-2002 4 M 3 0 1 4
Most appearances

German athletes who have competed in four or more Winter Paralympic Games. Ages under 15 or over 40 are in bold.

No. Athlete Sport Birth Year Games Years First/Last Age Gender Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Reinhild Möller   Alpine skiing 1956 1980-2006 24 - 50 F 16 2 1 19
2 Gerd Schönfelder   Alpine skiing 1970 1992-2010 22 - 40 M 16 4 2 22

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Germany at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  2. ^ Germany at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  3. ^ Germany at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  4. ^ Germany at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
  5. ^ Germany at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee