WRESTLERS from Germany

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary German Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous German Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of German Wrestlers.

1. Wolfgang Hofmann (1941 - 2020)

With an HPI of 45.22, Wolfgang Hofmann is the most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Wolfgang Hofmann (30 March 1941 – 12 March 2020) was a West German judoka who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he won the silver medal in the middleweight class representing the United Team of Germany. Hofmann was German champion 15 times and European champion twice (1965 and 1968. He was the holder of the 8th Dan, as well as being a lecturer for judo at the German Sport University in Cologne for many years. He further developed his skills during two language and study visits to Japan. He shaped the training and examination regulations of the German Judo Association (DJB). Hofmann published together with the Japanese Mahito Ohgo a standard book about judo, Judo - Basics of Tachi- Waza and Ne-Waza, in the early 1970s, writing in the foreword: "Above all, judo means: practicing on the mat, moving, fighting with many partners, or, as the Japanese say, understanding with the body". Hofmann died on 12 March 2020 about two weeks shy of his 79th birthday.

2. Klaus Glahn (1942 - )

With an HPI of 42.94, Klaus Glahn is the 2nd most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Klaus Glahn (born 23 March 1942) is a retired West German judoka who competed at the 1964 and 1972 Olympics. In 1964 he won a bronze medal in the openweight class while representing the United Team of Germany. Eight years later he won a silver medal for West Germany in the heavyweight category. Between 1967 and 1973 Glahn won five medals at World Championships in the heavyweight and open divisions. He also won three European heavyweight titles, in 1963, 1968 and 1970. From 1985 to 1988 Glahn was president of the German Judo Federation. He also worked as a manager at Volkswagen Group. In the 2000s Glahn was active in politics. He was a leading candidate from the Rentnerinnen- und Rentner-Partei (RRP) at the 2009 European Parliament election.

3. Frank Wieneke (1962 - )

With an HPI of 35.25, Frank Wieneke is the 3rd most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Frank Wieneke (born 31 January 1962 in Hannover) is a German judoka and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the half middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He is a member of Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.

4. Ole Bischof (1979 - )

With an HPI of 34.56, Ole Bischof is the 4th most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Ole Bischof (born 27 August 1979 in Reutlingen) is a German judoka. He is trained by 1984 Olympic gold medalist Frank Wieneke.

5. Udo Quellmalz (1967 - )

With an HPI of 34.36, Udo Quellmalz is the 5th most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Udo Quellmalz (born 8 March 1967 in Leipzig), known as Quelle, is a German judoka. He competed in judo at the Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 1992 and a gold medal in 1996. He also won the World Judo Championships in 1991 and 1995. Quellmalz was appointed head coach of the Flemish Judo Federation in 2022. He has previously directed the British judo team and served as a coach for the Austrian and Qatari teams.

6. Aline Rotter-Focken (1991 - )

With an HPI of 30.37, Aline Rotter-Focken is the 6th most famous German Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Aline Rotter-Focken (née Focken; born 10 May 1991) is a German freestyle wrestler. She won the world title in the 69 kg division in 2014 and a bronze medal in the 67 kg category at the 2013 European Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo she won the Gold. She started wrestling in 1996 under the guidance of her father, Hans-Georg Focken. In 2020, she won the gold medal in the women's 76 kg event at the 2020 Individual Wrestling World Cup held in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2021, she won the gold medal in her event at the 2021 Poland Open held in Warsaw, Poland. She took gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

7. Frank Stäbler (1989 - )

With an HPI of 29.58, Frank Stäbler is the 7th most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Frank Stäbler (also spelled Staebler; born 27 June 1989) is a German Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the 2012 European Championship and 2015 World Championship in the welterweight category. Stäbler trains at TSV Musberg in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, coached by Janis Zamanduridis from the national wrestling team.

8. Kerstin Thiele (1986 - )

With an HPI of 29.11, Kerstin Thiele is the 8th most famous German Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Kerstin Thiele (born 26 August 1986, in Riesa, Bezirk Dresden, East Germany) is a German judoka and a silver medallist at the Olympic Games 2012 in London. Kerstin Thiele is a German champion in judo in the Middleweight (‍–‍70 kg) division. She competes for the German club JC Leipzig, and was part of the German national team. At the 2012 Olympics she reached the women's middleweight judo final vs. Lucie Décosse, who won the gold medal. On the way Thiele beat Moira de Villiers, Anett Meszaros, Edith Bosch and Chen Fei.

9. Yvonne Bönisch (1980 - )

With an HPI of 26.84, Yvonne Bönisch is the 9th most famous German Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Yvonne Snir-Bönisch (née Bönisch; born 29 December 1980 in Ludwigsfelde, East Germany) is a German judo coach and former judoka. She retired in 2008. She won a gold medal in the lightweight division (57 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics and was a two-times world championship finalist (2003 and 2005). Her beginnings with judo happened at JV Ludwigsfelde. Bönisch coached at UJKC Potsdam. She moved to Israel in January 2017 and was a coach with the women's national team until end of 2020. Since 1.1.2021 she is the head coach of the Austrian JudoTeam and responsible for men and women. At the Tokyo Olympics her athletes won 2 medals. Silver for Michaela Polleres (‍–‍70 kg) and Bronze for Shamil Borchashvili (‍–‍81 kg).

10. Eduard Trippel (1997 - )

With an HPI of 23.90, Eduard Trippel is the 10th most famous German Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Eduard Trippel (born 26 March 1997) is a German judoka. He won the silver medal in the men's 90 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He also won one of the bronze medals in the mixed team event. He competed at the World Judo Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2021. He competed in the men's 90 kg and men's team events at the 2017 European Judo Championships held in Warsaw, Poland. In 2020, he competed in the men's 90 kg event at the European Judo Championships held in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2021, he won one of the bronze medals in his event at the Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar.