Hartwig Gauder
German athlete (1954–2020)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hartwig Gauder (10 November 1954 – 22 April 2020) was a German race walker who won a gold medal in the 50 kilometres walk at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
Gauder in 1994 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 November 1954 Vaihingen an der Enz, West Germany |
| Died | 22 April 2020 (aged 65) |
Medal record | |
Born in West Germany, his family moved to East Germany in 1960 when they inherited property at Ilmenau. Gauder thus competed for East Germany.[1]
In 1996 Gauder started suffering from a virus infection of his heart. After living with an artificial heart for several months, he received a heart transplant. He subsequently took part in the New York Marathon several times. Being classified as a disabled participant due to his transplant, he was once disqualified for being too fast as there was a minimum time, which he underran.[1]
His recovery from almost dying to returning into a normal life was covered in a documentary shown on German documentary channel Phoenix.[1]
Gauder died while undergoing dialysis on 22 April 2020, aged 65.[2] The cause of death was a heart attack complicated by kidney failure.[3]
International competitions
- Olympic Games
- 1980 Moscow – gold
- 1988 Seoul – bronze
- World Championships
- 1987 Rome – gold
- 1991 Tokyo – bronze
- European Championships
- 1986 Stuttgart – gold
- 1990 Split – bronze
