Karl-Joachim Hürter and the West German male field hockey team won the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics after losing the final against Pakistan 2-1 after extra time. In 1986 and 1987, he was on the team winning the Champions Trophy. Hürter also won the bronze medal at the 1986 Worlds. He won 79 international caps between 1982-89.
Domestically, Hürter played with TuS Grün-Weiss Mayen and then KKHT Schwarz-Weiss Köln. He was later responsible for finances at the German Hockey Federation from 1999-2005, and was chairman of the organizing committee of the men’s field hockey World Championship in 2006. By profession, he was a tax advisor in Cologne.