Bernd Drechsel

Bernd Drechsel was a technically brilliant Greco-Roman wrestler. He was too small for football, so he started wrestling at age 14. He finished fourth in his first World Championships in 1971 when he was only 17-years-old. At the 1972 München Olympic Games Drechsel finished seventh as a light-flyweight. In 1975 he won a bronze medal at the European Championships, which was his greatest sporting success. Between 1971 and 1979 Bernd Drechsel was a seven-time GDR Champion. His career with the GDR national team ended in 1979.

Drechel later became a youth wrestling coach and also worked as a wrestling referee. After German reunification Drechsel made a successful comeback when he was almost 40, and wrestled for two more years in the German national league. He died after a long and severe illness at the age of 63. His brother Frank died earlier in a motorcycle accident in 1979.