Matthias Steiner

Matthias Steiner (; born 25 August 1982) is an Austrian-German retired weightlifter who is an Olympic gold medalist.

As a native Austrian, he competed for Austria internationally from 1998 to 2005, in European Championships, World Championships, and the 2004 Summer Olympics. From 2002 to 2005 he was four times Austrian National Champion in the +105 kg category, and holds Austrian records in the −105 kg and +105 kg categories. In 2005, Steiner left the Austrian weightlifting federation, and married a German woman.

Although his wife died in a car accident, he continued his weightlifting career in Germany, eventually received German citizenship in early 2008, won overall silver at the 2008 European Championships, and the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Early and personal life Matthias Steiner was born in Vienna, Austria. He hails from Obersulz in Lower Austria, where he attended Volksschule (primary school), then Hauptschule (secondary school). Steiner completed an apprenticeship in plumbing. His father, Friedrich Steiner, a 20-time IWF-Masters World Weightlifting Champion, also ranks first on the IWF 2008 Hall of Fame Survey of Leading Master Lifters.

Steiner suffers from Type-1 diabetes, diagnosed at his 18th birthday. She kept asking the Eurosport commentators for his email address, until they gave it to her. She contacted Steiner, and he agreed to meet her in Lower Austria. They married shortly thereafter and hence he moved to Germany, where he then applied for German citizenship.

On 16 July 2007, his wife, Susann, died in a car accident. Despite the tragic loss, and after losing

Weightlifting career 1998–2003 Steiner participated in the 1998 and 1999 European Junior Championships, and the 2000 Junior World Championships.

At the 2001 European Junior Championships in Kalmar, Sweden he won bronze in the −105 kg category, with 360 kg (165 kg and 195 kg).

2004 He won the 2004 Austrian National Championships in the +105 kg category with a total of 400 kg.

2005

Steiner won the 2005 Austrian National Championships in the +105 kg category with a total of 382.5 kg. The Austrian national coach, together with other functionaries, accused Steiner of deliberate failure, Since moving to Germany he competes for the Chemnitzer AC weightlifting club, and is their team captain in the German weightlifting league. Steiner trains in the German Federal Weightlifting Center in Leimen near Heidelberg, with German national coach Frank Mantek.

At the 2008 European Championships in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy in the over 105 kg category he was the only lifter to snatch 200 kg, winning gold. In clean and jerk he won bronze with a personal best of 246 kg. All his six attempts were successful. With a total result of 446 kg he won overall silver behind Viktors Ščerbatihs from Latvia, who lifted 447 kg.

The biggest success of Steiner's career came in August 2008, when he won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. After World record holder Hossein Rezazadeh had retired in July 2008, the event turned into a close competition between Steiner, Evgeny Chigishev, and the tournament favorite, European and World champion Viktors Ščerbatihs.

Steiner stood on the medalists' podium with a photo of his late wife, who would otherwise have accompanied him to the Games.

2009–2015 In January 2009, Steiner was operated on for an inguinal hernia. He had to pull out of competing at the 2009 Arnold Sports Festival in March, nevertheless was part of the German delegation at the event and met with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At the 2009 German Championships he ranked second in the snatch behind Almir Velagic, and won overall with a total of 430 kg.

At the 2010 European Championships he ranked third with a total of 426 kg. He announced his retirement from competitive weightlifting in March 2013.

Steiner participated in Season 8 of the German TV dance show Let's Dance, finishing third.

Career statistics DateTournamentVenueWeight categorySnatchRankClean and jerkRankOverallRank 2001-04-28 European Championships Trenčín, Slovakia −94 kg 150.0 kg 15th 175.0 kg 15th 325.0 kg 16th 2002-04-25 European Championships Antalya, Turkey +105 kg 172.5 kg 12th 207.5 kg 11th 380 kg 11th 2002-11-23 World Championships Warsaw, Poland −105 kg 180.0 kg 12th 215.0 kg 12th 395.0 kg 12th 2003-04-18 European Championships Loutraki, Greece −105 kg 180.0 kg 8th 212.5 kg 9th 392.5 kg 8th 2003-11-17 World Championships Vancouver, Canada −105 kg 182.5 kg 9th 220.0 kg 6th 402.5 kg 7th 2004-04-24 European Championships Kyiv, Ukraine −105 kg 180.0 kg 10th 225.0 kg 5th 405.0 kg 7th 2004-08-15 Olympic Games Athens, Greece −105 kg 182.5 kg – 222.5 kg – 405.0 kg 7th 2005-04-22 European Championships Sofia, Bulgaria +105 kg – – – – – DNF 2008-04-14 European Championships Lignano S., Italy +105 kg 200.0 kg 1st 246.0 kg 3rd 446.0 kg 2nd 2008-08-19 Olympic Games Beijing, China +105 kg 203.0 kg – 258.0 kg – 461.0 kg 1st 2010-04-11 European Championships Minsk, Belarus +105 kg 190.0 kg 4th 236.0 kg 2nd 426.0 kg 3rd

National championships YearCountryWeight categorySnatchRankClean and jerkRankOverallRank 2002 Austria +105 kg 167.5 kg 1st 202.5 kg 1st 370.0 kg 1st 2003 Austria +105 kg 175.0 kg 1st 215.0 kg 1st 390.0 kg 1st 2004 Austria +105 kg 177.5 kg 1st 222.5 kg 1st 400.0 kg 1st 2005 Austria +105 kg 172.5 kg 1st 210.0 kg 1st 382.5 kg 1st 2009 Germany +105 kg 190.0 kg 2nd 240.0 kg 1st 430.0 kg 1st

Personal bests Snatch: Clean and jerk: Combined:

Sponsorships In 2008, Steiner signed a four-year contract with marketing company "movie & more" in Cologne. Previously, he was supported by Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe and his weightlifting club Chemnitzer AC. The Bundeswehr, while supporting other German weightlifters, did not admit Steiner because of his diabetes.

Media On 20 August 2008, the day after he won the Olympic gold medal, Steiner featured on the cover of China Daily's Olympian, titled "Supersteiner".

TV appearances Apart from sports events, where he participated in or commented on weightlifting competitions, Steiner also appeared on a number of talk shows and game shows in Germany and Austria, including Wetten, dass..? and Die Millionenshow (Austrian Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Celebrity Special Edition).

Awards Goldenes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich (Austria) Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Germany) 2008 German Weightlifter of the Year 2008 Bambi award, category Sports 2008 German Sportspersonality of the year – Steiner was the first weightlifter to receive this award. 2008 Gold Medal Summer Olympics