Matthias Steiner

Matthias Steiner was an Austrian heavyweight lifter born in Vienna (Wien) and represented his homeland at the 2004 Athens Olympics, placing seventh. In 2005 the Austrian Weightlifting Federation removed him from the national team due to weight problems. The sports administrators stated it was unsporting of him to not lose weight.

In 2007, Steiner then married his German girlfriend Susanne and consequently requested German citizenship. After receiving his German passport, he then competed for his new country and won the super-heavyweight gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. During the medal ceremony, Steiner produced a photograph of his late wife, who had died in a car accident shortly after their marriage, in what was a memorable Olympic moment.

Four years later at London, Steiner could not finish the competition due to failing a valid lift in the clean & jerk section. Meanwhile his life had changed fundamentally because of his Olympic victory in 2004. He had many appearances on TV and stage shows. It was during this time that he met his second wife, the TV presenter Inge Posmyk, and they raised two children. Through 2026 Steiner continued to regularly appear on German television in a variety of entertainment shows.

Steiner won one gold and one silver medal at the 2010 World Championships, and one gold, three silver, and two bronze medals at the Europeans. From 2003-05 he won three Austrian national title, and in 2009-10 two German national titles. Steiner was awarded the German television BAMBI Award in 2008, and that same year, because of his sporting triumphs, was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. He was also elected German Sportsman of the Year. In 2022, he was inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame.