Dieter Speer

Dieter Speer (born 24 February 1942) is a former East German biathlete.

Dieter Speer

Personal information
Full name	Dieter Speer
Born	(1942-02-24) 24 February 1942 Legnica, Lower Silesia, Germany
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Professional information
Sport	Biathlon
Club	SG Dynamo Zinnwald
Olympic Games
Teams	2 (1968, 1972)
Medals	1 (0 gold)
World Championships
Teams	4 (1969, 1970, 1971, 1973)
Medals	3 (1 gold)
Medal record Men's biathlon Representing East Germany Olympic Games 1972 Sapporo 4 × 7.5 km relay World Championships 1971 Hämeenlinna 20 km individual 1970 Östersund 4 × 7.5 km relay 1973 Lake Placid 4 × 7.5 km relay

He was the first German to hold the title when he became world champion in biathlon in 1971, beating the outstanding Alexander Tikhonov over 20 kilometres. Tikhonov could be said to be partly responsible for Speer's success, since the rifle was a gift from Tikhonov.

Speer was able to return the favour a year later at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, lending Tikhonov his ski when the latter fell during the relay and broke a ski. In that event, the Russians won, and the East German team only got a bronze medal.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games

1 medal (1 bronze)

Event	Individual	Relay
1968 Grenoble	18th	6th
1972 Sapporo	13th	Bronze

World Championships

3 medals (1 gold, 2 bronze)

Event	Individual	Relay
1969 Zakopane	21st	5th
1970 Östersund	4th	Bronze
1971 Hämeenlinna	Gold	10th
1973 Lake Placid	13th	Bronze

*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.

External links

• Dieter Speer at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• SGD Zinnwald
• Article of the German Soviet Alliance (in German)
• Portrait Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in German)