Stephan Timo Freigang (born 27 September 1967, in Hohenleipisch,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

) is a former long-distance runner from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, who won the bronze medal in the men's marathon at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

in Barcelona, Spain. He also competed for his native country at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. He was a three-time participant at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

(1991, 1993 and 1995).

Life and sports

As a youth, Freigang ran long-distance races. As a 16-year-old he took part in 15 km runs. In 1986 he was fourth at the World Junior Championships in the 10,000 meter run and in the 20 km run. He ran his first marathon in 1987 with a time of 2 hours 14 min. 34 sec. He sporting career was in question in 1989 after a bad motorcycle accident, but in 1990 he was once again one of the top German runners and took place in the September sporting event in Berlin and recorded a time of 28:05 in the 10,000, a result that was the best by a German that year. He won the

Berlin Half Marathon The Berlin Half Marathon is a major endurance event held annually in early spring in Berlin, Germany. Besides the runner's main race, the event includes a race for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers. All athletes use the same co ...

in 1990 and 1992. At the 1992 Olympic games he planned to run the 10,000 meters, but he failed to qualify for the German team in that event. But with a marathon time of 2 hours 12 minutes in Palermo, December 1991, he was still able to join the Olympic team. The marathon at the games came to a dramatic end. He reached the stadium in third place, but was overtaken by Takeyuji Nakayama of Japan. Even so, he was able to overtake Nakayama to take the bronze. After his Olympic medal he had no further important results in international competitions. Freigang represented first LC Cottbus and trained with Dieter Bittermann. In 2002 he has represented SC DHfK Leipzig and has trained under Karl-Heinz Baumback and Dr. Thomas Prochnow. In 2005 he retired from sport. During his career he was 1.76 meters tall and weighed 65 kilograms.

International competitions

Marathons

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freigang, Stephan 1967 births Living people German male long-distance runners German male marathon runners East German male marathon runners East German male long-distance runners Olympic athletes for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany Sportspeople from Brandenburg Frankfurt Marathon male winners Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) FISU World University Games gold medalists for Germany Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade Olympic male marathon runners