Karl Hein (athlete)

For the Estonian footballer, see Karl Hein (footballer).

Karl Hein

Hein in 1936
Personal information
Born	11 June 1908 Hamburg, German Empire
Died	10 July 1982 (aged 74) Hamburg, West Germany
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	103 kg (227 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Hammer throw
Club	SV St. Georg, Hamburg
Achievements and titles
Personal best	58.77 (1938)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing Germany Olympic Games 1936 Berlin Hammer throw European Championships 1938 Paris Hammer throw

Karl Hein (11 June 1908 – 10 July 1982) was a German hammer thrower who won a gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Biography

By the early 1930s Hein had married and retired from athletics. He resumed competing after watching a film about the 1932 Olympics, winning the national championships in 1936–38.

At the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Hein won the gold medal in the men's hammer throw competition.

Hein won the British AAA Championships title in the hammer throw event at the 1937 AAA Championships and in 1938 he set two world records and won the European title.

He won the German national championships in 1946–47 and placed second in 1956. In 1962 he was awarded the Rudolf-Harbig-Gedächtnispreis.

Hein died from a stroke aged 74. His son Karl-Peter also competed in the hammer throw, at national level.