Uwe Beyer (14 April 1945 – 15 April 1993) was a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

er. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won the bronze medal in 1964, representing the

United Team of Germany The United Team of Germany (german: Gesamtdeutsche Mannschaft) was a combined team of athletes from West Germany and East Germany that competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In 1956, the team also included athletes f ...

, and later finished fourth in 1972 representing

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. He won the European title in 1971 and finished third in 1966 and fifth in 1974. Domestically Beyer won eight consecutive German titles in 1964–71, and received the

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

in 1964. He also starred as Siegfried in ''

Die Nibelungen (1966/1967 film) ''Die Nibelungen'' ("The Nibelungs") is a two-part series of silent fantasy films created by Austrian director Fritz Lang in 1924, consisting of ''Die Nibelungen: Siegfried'' and ''Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge''. The scenarios for bot ...

''. Beyer had a degree in physical education and in retirement ran a sports store in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. His father Erich competed nationally in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

.Uwe Beyer
sports-reference.com Beyer suffered a fatal heart attack while playing tennis in the Turkish beach resort of

Belek Belek is a township in the Serik district in Turkey's Antalya Province. The local population in 2022 is 73,260. Belek is one of the centers of Turkey's tourism industry and is home to more than thirty four-star and five-star hotels and many ...

, possibly as a delayed result of the use of

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...

s throughout his career, to which he freely admitted in a 1977 interview in the "Aktuelles Sportstudio" on

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

References

1945 births 1993 deaths German male hammer throwers West German male hammer throwers Olympic athletes of the United Team of Germany Olympic athletes of West Germany Olympic bronze medalists for the United Team of Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Doping cases in athletics German sportspeople in doping cases Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for West Germany Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Schleswig-Holstein 20th-century German people {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub