Fred Hempel

Freestyle wrestler Fred Hempel came sixth in the welterweight class at the 1976 Montréal Olympics. At the 1974 European Championships he finished fourth, and the following year won the bronze medal. From 1971-74, and in 1976, he won the East German national title.

From 1977-80 Hempel studied sports at the DHfK Leipzig and graduated. He then became one of Germany’s most successful wrestling coaches. He started his coaching career with SG Dynamo Luckenwalde, and the East German freestyle national team, until re-unification. From 1991, he was part of the freestyle national coaching team of Germany, and also coached Luckenwalder SC. Later, he became CEO of Nelson Sport, a sport marketing company to promote high performance wrestlers.