Biography of Fredy Schmidtke

Fredy Schmidtke (born 1 July 1961 in Cologne-Worringen; died 1 December 2017 in Dormagen) was a German track cyclist. At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles he won the 1,000 metres track time trial. His career is connected with short, highly focused races, early success and a life that continued more quietly after sport.

Cologne-Worringen and the track

Schmidtke grew up in Cologne-Worringen and came to cycling early. As a youth rider he already collected national titles. After school he trained as a pipe fitter and later served in a Bundeswehr sports support group. That combination of manual skill, discipline and track training suited an event in which every movement, every acceleration and every turn of the pedals mattered.

Junior title and international level

In 1979 Schmidtke won the junior world title in the 1,000 metres time trial. In the following years he became one of West Germany's notable amateur track riders. He won national championships in time trial and sprint, was successful in tandem with Dieter Giebken and took the 1982 world title in the 1,000 metres time trial. A disqualification issued in 1983 was later revised by the world federation.

Los Angeles 1984

On 30 July 1984 Schmidtke competed in the 1,000 metres time trial at the Olympic Velodrome in Carson. He covered the distance in 1:06.10 and won the gold medal for West Germany. He also placed eighth in the sprint at the same Games. The Olympic victory remained the sporting peak of his career and made him one of the notable figures of West German track cycling in that period.

After the career

After the Olympic victory, Schmidtke found it difficult to return to his earlier form. He ended his active career in the mid-1980s, opened a sports shop in Cologne and ran into financial trouble with it. Later he worked again in his trained profession. In those years his life moved away from public sporting attention into a quieter everyday existence that is also part of his story.

Dormagen

Fredy Schmidtke died in Dormagen on 1 December 2017 after a heart attack. He was 56 years old. His name remains connected with one clear sporting moment: a kilometre on the track in Los Angeles, ridden with concentration, speed and the control of a specialist.