Lutz Dombrowski (born 25 June 1959) is a former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete and Olympic champion.

Early life

Dombrowski was born in 1959 in

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as president of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to ...

, who at the time of Dombrowski's birth was

president of East Germany The president of the German Democratic Republic (german: Präsident der Republik) was the head of state of the German Democratic Republic, commonly known as East Germany, from 1949 until 1960. The office was created by the Constitution of 1949 ...

, was his god-father; he was Pieck's second god-child after

Hannelore Anke Hannelore Anke (later Hofmann; born 8 December 1957) is a retired German swimmer who competed for East Germany in the 1970s. Personal life Anke was born in 1957 in Bad Schlema. Her mother had a senior position in a textile manufacturing plant ...

Career

Dombrowski was the best-ever

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

er from the former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. After winning at the European cup in 1979 he won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympic games in Moscow. In 1982, he was European champion. He represented the Karl-Marx-Stadt sport club. His 8.54 meter winning jump in Moscow was a low-altitude record and still stands as the German national record. At the time, it was the second best jump in history behind

Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft. 2.5 in), he broke the existing record by ...

's world record of 8.90 set in 1968. Today he is employed as a sports teacher and works as a representative of the sports society in

Schwäbisch Gmünd Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district and ...

. On 10 April 2003, he was inducted into Germany's track and field "Hall of Fame". During his career he was 1.87 meters tall and weighed 87 kilograms. In 1991, researcher Brigitte Berendonk found doctoral theses recording state run doping in the GDR. Among the list of doped athletes was the name of Dombrowski. Brigitte Berendonk: ''Doping. Von der Forschung zum Betrug''. Reinbek 1992, , S. 181

References

1959 births Living people People from Zwickau People from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians East German male long jumpers Sportspeople from Saxony Olympic athletes of East Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) People of the Stasi Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub