Zoltan Lunka

Romanian-born flyweight boxer Zoltan Lunka won the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics representing Germany. In 1988, he was Romanian amateur champion and runner-up in the Youth World Championships. He moved to Germany in 1989, then to Austria in 1992, before returning to Germany the following year. In 1995, he became a German citizen.

From 1993-95 Lunka won the prestigious Chemie Cup at Halle on Saale, representing Austria in 1993 and Germany in the following years. In 1994 and 1995 he was German national flyweight champion. In 1995, he also won the Amateur World Championships, beating Kazakhstan’s Bolat Zhumadilov in the final. Lunka turned professional in 1996, and between then and 2001 he won 21 of his 23 professional bouts.

Lunka was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award in 1996. He later became a boxing coach at the Regional Olympic Centre at Heidelberg to coach youth boxers, before later moving to Karlsruhe.