East German half-middleweight judoka Dietmar Hötger won the bronze medal at the 1972 München Olympics. Four years later in Montréal he missed the final round after losing his first round semi-final bout by Yusei-gachi versus French judoka Patrick Vial. Hötger won a bronze medal at the 1971 World Championships and a silver medal at the 1973 Worlds, and added gold medals at both the 1972 and the 1973 Europeans. In 1975 he added another bronze and in 1976 another silver medal. In 1969, 1971 and 1975 Hötger won East German titles.
Hötger was then employed by the Nationale Volksarmee (National People’s Army) as a sports soldier and began starting coaching judokas. From 1978-89 he was chief national coach in the former GDR, and after re-unification, he was until 2000 chief coach of the German national team. Finally, he coached the Federal Police in Germany. Hötger became known as one the most successful judo coaches ever.
East Germany