Horst Hagen was a member of the East German volleyball team that won a gold medal at the 1970 World Championships in Bulgaria. The team won the deciding game against Bulgaria 3-2 in a dramatic fifth set. The team was 8 points behind (13-5), but came back to win sensationally, 15-13. In 1971 the team finished fourth at the Europeans. At the 1972 München Olympics the team only lost to Japan 3-1 in the final and won the silver medal. At the 1974 Mexico Worlds the team again finished fourth, and at the 1975 Europeans at Yugoslavia East Germany placed seventh. Hagen earned 138 international caps.
Domestically, Hagen played with SC Traktor Schwerin, and later from 1969-76 with SC Leipzig. He helped them to win the East German titles from 1969-76. Professionally, he trained as a telecommunication mechanic, and later worked as an automotive engineer at the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur in Leipzig until re-unification. He then became jobless and later worked as a craftsman, bricklayer and carpenter.
East Germany