Harald Büttner

Freestyle heavyweight wrestler Harald Büttner, later husband of speed skater Monika Zernicek, started his international career at the 1973 European Championships, winning the bronze medal. He then won a gold medal in 1974, and silver in 1975, and another two bronze medals in 1977 and 1980. His greatest moment came in 1978 when he won the World Championships. He also won World silver medals in 1975 and 1977.

At the 1976 Montréal Games Büttner disappointed by losing his first two bouts. Four years later at Moskva he then finished an unfortunate fourth, again a disappointing result. Domestically, he won seven East German national titles in a row from 1974-80. In his youth he tried weightlifting and rowing before switching to wrestling.