Udo Beyer

Udo Beyer came from a top sporting family. His brother Hans-Georg won 1980 Olympic in handball, his brother Peter and his sister Angelika also played handball, his sister Gisela finished fourth in the 1980 Olympic discus, while another sister, Gudrun, became physiotherapist to the reunified German fencing team in 1992.

Udo Beyer also played handball before he turned to the shot. He dominated the event for 10 years in the late 1980s, together with his teammate Ulf Timmermann, with Beyer ranking #1 in the world from 1977-8 and also 1984. In 1978 he was selected as East German’s Athlete of the Year. Beyer competed at the Olympics for East Germany in 1976 (gold medal), 1980 (bronze medal), and 1988 (fourth) and for the reunified Germany in 1992 (eliminated in the qualification round), missing out in 1984 because of the Russian-led boycott. For years he captained the East German Athletics National Team and is believed to have spied on his teammates for the Stasi (State Security) during those years.

Beyer set three shot put world records: 1978 (22.15), 1983 (22.22), and 1986 (22.64). His numerous titles include the 1978 and 1982 Europeans, the 1977/1979/1981 World Cup, the 1977/1979/1981 European Cup, along with 11 East German titles between 1977-87.

After the reunification, it was revealed by Brigitte Berendonk that he was a part of the East German systematic doping program, confirming that Beyer had taken high-dose oral Turinabol from 1983-84. Udo was an educated travel management assistant and later ran his own travel agency in Potsdam.

Personal Best: SP – 22.64 (1986).