Matthias Witthaus

Matthias Witthaus was a German field hockey player who participated in the 2000 Olympics at Sydney. Germany beat Great Britain 4-0 to win the match for fifth place. At Athens in 2004 he finally won a medal, when Germany beat Spain 4-3 after sudden death extra time in the bronze medal match. At Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, he crowned his career by winning two gold medals, beating Spain again, 3-2, and the Netherlands 2-1, respectively, in the finals.

In 1999, 2003, and 2011, Witthaus won the European Championship, and also won the 2001, 2003, and 2012 the European Indoors. He also captured the Champions Trophy in 2001 and 2007, the Worlds in 2002 and 2006, and the 2003 and 2011 World Indoors. Witthaus was on the squads that lost the Champions Trophy finals in 2000, 2002, 2006, and 2009. He played 364 international matches (including 29 indoor), scoring 164 goals (36 indoor) from 1999-2012.

At club level, Witthaus played with HTC Uhlenhorst Mülheim, Crefelder HTC, Atlètic Terrassa, and Real Club de Polo de Barcelona in Spain. He then returned to Germany, playing with Mannheimer HC and Hamburger Polo Club, where he also started his coaching career. Witthaus helped Crefelder win the 2006 German title. He was twice awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. He studied sports science.