Dirk Brinkmann

Dirk Brinkmann was a member of the West German male field hockey teams that won silver medals at both the 1984 Los Angeles and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. In 1984 the team lost the final against Pakistan after extra time 2-1, and in 1988 Great Britain was the gold medal winner after winning 3-1; this time his brother Thomas was in the team. Brinkmann won 115 international caps (including 18 indoor) between 1982-96. He was European Indoor Champion 1984 and 1988. He also won bronze medals at the 1986 Worlds and the 1987 Europeans and won the Champions Trophy 1986-88 and 1995.

Domestically, Brinkmann played with THC Uhlenhorst Mülheim, winning the German Championships eight times between 1985 and 1995 (also the indoor title in 1987), and the European Champions Cup eight times in a row 1988-95. His brother, non-Olympian Marc, also played field hockey at Mülheim, and their mother Margret Kreienberg was German ladies doubles tennis champion.

Dirk Brinkmann later became a fully qualified PGA Golf Professional and golf coach at Düsseldorfer Golf Club. He had studied economics, worked as a sales and marketing specialist, and later organized golf events with his own agency.