Metz, Lothar

He grew up in the city of Auerbach , where from the age of 14 he was engaged in wrestling. In 1956, he won the youth championship of the GDR. In 1958, he became third in the international tournament in Leipzig and made his debut at the World Cup, also taking third place. In 1959 he moved to Rostock , began to play for ASK Vorwärts and became an officer in the Navy of the GDR. In the same year, took second place in the tournament in Greiz

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, he fought in the category of up to 87 kilograms (average weight). The elimination of the tournament took place as penalties accumulated. No penalty points were awarded for a clear victory, 1 penalty point was awarded for a points victory at any ratio of votes, any loss on points was punishable by 3 penalty points, and a pure defeat was awarded 4 penalty points. A draw could be fixed in the bout, then each of the fighters was awarded 2 penalty points. If a wrestler scored 6 or more penalty points, he was eliminated from the tournament. The title was disputed by 24 people. In the sixth and final round, Lothar Metz, based on the results of the fight of Dimitar Dobrev , could no longer count on a gold medal, and he received silver in the event of a tie, which happened.

In 1961, he remained fifth at the World Cup.

At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo , speaking for the German Unified Team , he fought in the category of up to 87 kilograms ( average weight ). The tournament regulations remained the same. The title was disputed by 20 people. By the end, Lothar Metz could no longer count on “gold”, and losing to Jiri Kormanik, he lost his second place, taking third.

In 1965, he again remained fifth at the World Cup. At the European Championships of 1966, he took fourth place. Only in 1967 he was able to become one of the winners, taking second place in the European Championship, and also took third place in the tournament of Ivan Poddubny . But at the 1967 World Cup, he remained eighth overall. In 1968, he won the tournament in Zella-Mehlis , and also took third place in the tournament in Warsaw . At the 1968 European Championships, he was only ninth.

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City , speaking for the GDR team, he fought in the category of up to 87 kilograms ( average weight ). The elimination of the tournament took place as penalties accumulated. No penalty points were awarded for a clear victory, 0.5 penalty points were awarded for a victory for a clear advantage, 1 penalty point for a victory for a point, 2 or 2.5 penalty points for a tie, 3 points for a defeat, 3 clear loss for a victory , 5 points, a clear defeat - 4 points. If a wrestler scored 6 or more penalty points, he was eliminated from the tournament.

The title was disputed by 19 athletes. In the final, the distribution of places depended on the results of two fights: Branislav Simic vs. Valentin Olenik and Lothar Metz vs. Nicolae Neguta. After the fight between Yugoslav and the Soviet wrestler, where there was a draw, Metz also had a draw, but he won and became the Olympic champion.

In 1970, he became the third in a tournament in East Berlin and the silver medalist of the European Championship. In 1971, he became the bronze medalist of the World Cup, repeating his debut success thirteen years ago.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he fought in the category of up to 90 kilograms ( light heavy ). The tournament regulations remained the same.

The title was disputed by 13 athletes. The 33-year-old wrestler could no longer compete on equal terms with his rivals, and after a draw in the first fight, he lost two and dropped out of the competition.

In 1973, Lothar Metz ended his sports career. Due to hearing impairment, he retired early.

• Lothar Metz - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
• Lothar Metz - profile on International Wrestling Database