The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Germany

This page contains a list of the greatest German Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 Wrestlers, 11 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 16th most number of Wrestlers behind Italy, and Cuba.

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. Wilfried Dietrich (1933 - 1992)

With an HPI of 51.58, Wilfried Dietrich is the most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Wilfried Dietrich (14 October 1933 – 2 June 1992) was a German heavyweight wrestler. Between 1956 and 1972 he took part in five Olympics and six world championships, often entering both the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling contests – a feat unmatched by any other wrestler. He won five Olympic and five world championship medals, becoming an Olympic (1960), World (1961) and European champion (1967). Between 1955 and 1962 he won all his freestyle bouts. In 1968 Dietrich was selected as the Olympic flag bearer for West Germany at its first appearance at the Summer Olympics; he won a bronze medal at those games. He failed to medal at his last Olympics in 1972, yet he produced the most spectacular victory of his career by throwing over his back the 182 kg American Chris Taylor in the Greco-Roman contest. Dietrich lost to Taylor in their freestyle bout. In 2008 he was inducted into the Germany's Sports Hall of Fame and in 2014 to the International Wrestling Hall of Fame.

2. Klaus Glahn (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 47.16, Klaus Glahn is the 2nd most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 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. Wolfgang Hofmann (1941 - 2020)

With an HPI of 45.27, Wolfgang Hofmann is the 3rd most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

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.

4. Georg Gehring (1903 - 1943)

With an HPI of 45.14, Georg Gehring is the 4th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Georg Gehring (14 November 1903 in Frankenthal – 31 October 1943 in Dnipro) was a German wrestler who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics, in the 1932 Summer Olympics, and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was killed in action during World War II.

5. Udo Quellmalz (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 37.89, Udo Quellmalz is the 5th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 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. Frank Wieneke (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 37.48, Frank Wieneke is the 6th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 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.

7. Maik Bullmann (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 37.29, Maik Bullmann is the 7th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Maik Bullmann (also known as Mike Bullmann, born 25 April 1967) is a German Greco-Roman wrestler. He is an Olympic champion and three-time World Champion.

8. Ole Bischof (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 35.45, Ole Bischof is the 8th 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.

9. Frank Stäbler (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 31.44, Frank Stäbler is the 9th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 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.

10. Yvonne Bönisch (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 31.03, Yvonne Bönisch is the 10th most famous German Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 20 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 Judo national team 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). At the Paris Olympics her athlete, Michaela Polleres (‍–‍70 kg) won Bronze. For her success at the 2024 Olympic Games, she was awarded the seventh Dan by Judo Austria.

People

Pantheon has 23 people classified as German wrestlers born between 1903 and 1999. Of these 23, 20 (86.96%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living German wrestlers include Klaus Glahn, Udo Quellmalz, and Frank Wieneke. The most famous deceased German wrestlers include Wilfried Dietrich, Wolfgang Hofmann, and Georg Gehring. As of April 2024, 12 new German wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Wilfried Dietrich, Georg Gehring, and Maik Bullmann.