Heinrich Schneidereit

A German weightlifter from Köln (Cologne), Heinrich Schneidereit won a gold medal with the German tug-of-war team at the 1906 Athina Olympics. In weightlifting he won a bronze medal in the unlimited class both with one hand, and in the two hands event, he tied for third alongside his teammate Heinrich Rondi and French Alexandre Maspoli. When Schneidereit started his career at only 19-years-old he was called “The German Wonderboy.”

At the World Championships Schneidereit placed second in the unlimited class in 1903 and 1907, and in 1911 finished third. In 1906 he won both the World and European Championships. In 1914 he won the Baltic Games in Malmö. The same year Schneidereit was drafted for military services, where he was killed in action in 1915 in Thionville. He was buried with several of his compatriots in a mass grave.