Stefan Kretzschmar

German left-wing handball player Stefan Kretzschmar, son of Waltraud and Peter Kretzschmar, won the silver medal with the German team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, after placing seventh at Atlanta in 1996, and fifth at Sydney in 2000. Kretzschmar was runner-up at the 2003 World Championships and was Handball Player of the Year in Germany in 1994 and 1995. He won 218 international caps and scored 821 goals.

At club level, Kretzschmar played with SC Dynamo Berlin (1985-91), SV Blau-Weiß Spandau (1991-93), VfL Gummersbach (1993-96) and SC Magdeburg (1996-2007). In 2002 and 2007, he won the European Champions League with Magdeburg. His daughter Lucie-Marie also became a professional handball player and was also a member of the German national team.

Kretzschmar was renowned for being tattooed and pierced all over his body. He dated swimmer Franziska van Almsick from 2000-04 although he was still married, and therefore they were followed by the “yellow press” in Germany. Kretzschmar later started a TV and broadcasting career with his own small TV and radio channels, and made several appearances on private German TV channels. He also worked as a handball expert with German sports channels Sport1, Sky Germany, and ARD. From 2007-09 he was sports director at SC Magdeburg, and from 2009-19 was a board member of SC DHfK Leipzig Handball, and then moved to Füchse Berlin to become sports director again.