Michael Knauth was a German field hockey goalkeeper who participated in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, when the re-unified German team won the final against Australia 2-1. Therefore, the team and all players were awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. In 1996, at Atlanta, the team again played Australia, but finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match 3-2.
In 1991, Knauth won the European Championships. He also won the Champions Trophy in 1991 and 1992. In total, he won 72 international caps (including 7 indoor) between 1989-96. Domestically, Knauth played with VfL Wolfsburg, Braunschweiger THC, and HC Limburg, whom he helped to win the German indoor championship in 1990 and 1991, and also the European Indoor Cup Winners’ Cup in 1992. By profession, Knauth later led a company dealing with industrial foams at Limburg.