Hans-Heinrich Sievert

Hans-Heinrich Sievert was a very versatile athlete who in 1932 finished 6th in the shot put, 11th in the discus throw, and 5th in the decathlon at the Los Angeles Olympics. Four years later, he only started in the shot put and finished a disappointing 10th, as at the time he was considered the symbol of the Nazi master race. In 1934 he was European champion in the decathlon and “World Sportsman of the Year” in the USA. He won German championships in 1930 and 1933 in the shot put, 1933 and 1934 in the discus, 1931, 1933-34 and 1938 in the decathlon, and in 1938 in the pentathlon. He set a world decathlon record record in 1934 and an indoor shot put world record in 1933.

Sievert graduated in 1938 as a lawyer and became a judge, but he was disabled in World War II, after his left lower leg had to be amputated. After the war he worked as a magistrate, ministerial official and government director, and part-time farmer. In 1953 he became chairman of the Hamburg Athletics Association. From 1953-58 he was secretary for sports and physical education in the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In 1957, he suffered a serious heart condition, and resigned from all his administrative bodies and moved to the estate of his father in Liensfeld. In 1939 he married the multi-athlete, but non-Olympian, Ruth Hagemann. Their two daughters Gisela and Norgard also were athletes in the 1960s. In 1971 the Association of German Olympians founded the Dr. Hans-Heinrich Sievert Award for special achievements in sports and volunteer work.

Personal Bests: SP – 15.89 (1933); DT – 49.32 (1933); Dec – 7147 (1934).