Germany won the first three international handball championships, and Hans Keiter was a member on each occasion. In 1936, he was team captain at the Olympic Games in Berlin, winning the gold medal. Field handball was held only once in the Olympic program, at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The German Reich won the preliminary round very predominant against the US (29-1) and Hungary (22-0), and in the final round they beat Austria 10-6 in the deciding match and won the gold medal.
Two years later, the inaugural World Championships in both field and indoor handball were held, which were both won by Germany. In domestic competition, Keiter was active for RSV Mülheim and, after the 1936 Games, PSV Berlin, a police sports club, as Keiter worked as a police officer for most of his life. Keiter also competed as a track athlete and a rower. After World War II, he became a handball coach, winning the West German title in 1966 and 1968 with TV Krefeld-Oppum. Later he also was engaged as a soccer coach at Rot-Weiß Essen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen for some years.
Germany