Uwe Beyer


Uwe Beyer was a West German hammer thrower. He competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won the bronze medal in 1964, representing the United Team of Germany, and later finished fourth in 1972 representing West Germany. He won the European title in 1971 and finished third in 1966 and fifth in 1974. Domestically Beyer won eight consecutive German titles in 1964–71, and received the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt in 1964. He also starred as Siegfried in Die Nibelungen . Beyer had a degree in physical education and in retirement ran a sports store in Mainz. His father Erich competed nationally in the shot put.
Beyer suffered a fatal heart attack while playing tennis in the Turkish beach resort of Belek, possibly as a delayed result of the use of anabolic steroids throughout his career, to which he freely admitted in a 1977 interview in the "Aktuelles Sportstudio" on ZDF.