Andreas Thiel

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameAndreas•Thiel
Used nameAndreas•Thiel
Nick/petnamesHexer
Born3 March 1960 in Lünen, Nordrhein-Westfalen (GER)
Measurements194 cm / 89 kg
AffiliationsVfL Gummersbach, Gummersbach (GER) / TSV Bayer Dormagen, Dormagen (GER)
NOC Germany West Germany
Medals OG
Gold 0
Silver 1
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

Goalkeeper Andreas Thiel, nicknamed “Hexer”, participated in three Olympic Games as the first goalkeeper of German teams. In 1984 he won the silver medal representing West Germany, and in 1992 and 1996 finished 10th and seventh respectively, both times representing the re-unified German team. In 1984 the team and all players were awarded with the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. Thiel won 256 international caps, and was the most capped German goalkeeper.

Domestically, Thiel played in 528 Bundesliga matches with Alemannia Aachen (1974-77), TV Hochdorf (1977-79), VfL Gummersbach (1979-91), TSV Bayer Dormagen (1991-2001), and finally SG Flensburg-Handewitt (2001). He helped Gummersbach to win five German Championships, three German Cups, and twice the European Cup Winners’ Cup. He was elected Handball Player of the Year seven times.

Thiel later studied law and became a lawyer with his own practice in Köln. As a lawyer, he was closely connected to sport. He became a referee at the German Sports Arbitration Court and chairman of the Permanent Court of Arbitration for the license clubs in the German Table Tennis Federation. Thiel also was the legal advisor for the handball Bundesliga. Besides that, he worked as a handball goalkeeper coach with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1984 Summer Olympics Handball FRG Andreas Thiel
Handball, Men (Olympic) West Germany 2 Silver
1992 Summer Olympics Handball GER Andreas Thiel
Handball, Men (Olympic) Germany 10
1996 Summer Olympics Handball GER Andreas Thiel
Handball, Men (Olympic) Germany 7