Wolfgang Nordwig (born 27 August 1943) is a former East German pole vaulter who won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics with a clearance of 5.50 m (18 ft 01⁄2 in). He was born in Chemnitz, Saxony.
Athletic career
Nordwig won a bronze in the pole vault at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He was a member of the East German team, the first time East and West Germany had sent separate teams to the Olympics. In the contest, Nordwig, the American Bob Seagren and the West-German Claus Schiprowski all cleared at 5.40 m, Seagren and Schiprowski on their second attempts and Nordwig on his third. All missed at 5.45 m. Seagren was the gold medal winner because he had had fewer misses at lower heights than Schiprowski.[1]
Nordwig was Olympic champion at the pole vault at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Nordwig's keenest rivals for the title the Americans Bob Seagren, Steve Smith and Jan Johnson and the Swede Kjell Isaksson were amongst those vaulters banned by the world governing body the IAAF from competing with the lighter poles they had been using all season. An initial ban in July had been reversed on August 27, but on the eve of the competition, August 30, the IAAF reimposed their ban claiming the poles were new equipment and therefore invalid. Seagren, the defending champion, finished second; Johnson third; and Smith and Isaksson did not even qualify for the final.[2][3] Nordwig had never preferred the new pole so was unaffected.[4]
In the competition itself, Johnson was eliminated at 5.40 m with Nordwig clearing on his second attempt and Seagren on his third. Nordwig then cleared 5.45 m with Seagren unable to match him. Nordwig then underlined his triumph by clearing 5.50 m for a new Olympic record and his personal best.[3]
He was also European champion three times: in 1966, 1969 and 1971. In addition, he was twice European indoor champion in 1971 and 1972.
Nordwig twice broke the pole vault world record.[5] The first occasion was on 17 June 1970 in Berlin, Germany when he achieved a height of 5.45 m (17 ft 10.6 in). The second was on 3 September 1970 in Turin, Italy when he broke his own world record with a height of 5.46 m (17 ft 11.0 in).
World Rankings
Nordwig was voted by the experts at Track and Field News to be ranked among the best in the world (the best in 1970 and 1971) in the pole vault in the period from 1965 to 1972.[6]
Pole Vault
| Year |
World rank |
| 1965 |
2nd |
| 1966 |
3rd |
| 1967 |
6th |
| 1968 |
2nd |
| 1969 |
3rd |
| 1970 |
1st |
| 1971 |
1st |
| 1972 |
3rd |
|
Biography
Nordwig studied for a diploma in physics and a doctorate in economics. He worked for VEB Carl Zeiss Jena eventually becoming a director of research and development. Later, he was managing director of a travel company in Berlin.[7]
References
- ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1968/ATH/mens-pole-vault.html "Athletics at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Men's Pole Vault", sports-reference.com.
- ↑ http://www.sanclementetimes.com/blog/2012/08/02/not-your-typical-olympic-story/ "Not Your Typical Olympic Story", Steve Breazeale, San Clemente Times, 2 August 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://trackandfield.about.com/od/polevault/a/controvpolevaul.htm "Americans Pole-Axed: Olympic Pole Vault Controversy", Mike Rosenbaum, trackandfield.about.com. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ↑ http://www.olympic.org/news/wolfgang-nordwig-athletics/178219 "Wolfgang Nordwig - Athletics", olympic.org. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ↑ Progression of IAAF World Records 2011 Edition, Editor Imre Matrahazi, IAAF Athletics, p 163.
- ↑ "World Rankings Index--Men's pole vault". Track and Field News.
- ↑ http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&ei=PVdPUbPbKMWsO63UgIgD&hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522wolfgang%2Bnordwig%2522%26start%3D40%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1242%26bih%3D515&rurl=translate.google.co.uk&sl=de&u=http://www.uni-protokolle.de/Lexikon/Wolfgang_Nordwig.html&usg=ALkJrhiq7_jNM2TPy_7eMIEYVjBkIYnDpQ "Wolfgang Nordwig", uni-protokolle.de. Translated from German. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
External links
See also
European Indoor Champions in men's pole vault |
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| Persondata |
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| Name |
Nordwig, Wolfgang |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
German pole vaulter |
| Date of birth |
27 August 1943 |
| Place of birth |
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| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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East Germany
John Pennel
Christos Papanikolaou