Christoph Höhne

Race walker Christoph Höhne won the gold medal in the 50K at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games with the East German team. This triumph was a historic one as he won the race by more than 10 minutes. He also finished sixth at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with the mixed German team. On the evening before the 1972 München race, East German officials received an anonymous tip that he wanted to defect during the 50K race. They did not believe the allegations, but Höhne went to the start line unnerved and finished only 14th.

From 1965-70 Höhne won the IAAF Race Walking World Cup. In 1969 and 1974 he was European Champion, placing second in 1971 and fourth in 1962. He was East German Champion in the 50K in 1963-65 and 1968-71, and won the 35K in 1963-64. Between 1965 and 1971 he set five world records at different distances, and he was among the world’s best race walkers in the 1960s and 1970s.

After his sports career, Höhne studied photography and became a well-known sports photographer in East Germany. Among other things, he received a gold medal at the International Sports Photography Exhibition in 1978. After German reunification, he worked as a freelance photographer mostly for daily newspapers Junge Welt and Sportecho. His brother-in-law Hans-Georg Reimann was also an Olympic race walker, but Christoph was not related to André Höhne.

Personal Best: 50kmW – 3-52:53 (1974).