The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Germany

This page contains a list of the greatest German Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 Wrestlers, 21 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 14th most number of Wrestlers behind Türkiye, and Cuba.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary German Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous German Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of German Wrestlers.

1. Wolfgang Hofmann (1941 - 2020)

With an HPI of 58.62, Wolfgang Hofmann is the most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.

Wolfgang Hofmann (30 March 1941 – 12 March 2020) was a West German judoka who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he won the silver medal in the middleweight class representing the United Team of Germany. Hofmann was German champion 15 times and European champion twice (1965 and 1968. He was the holder of the 8th Dan, as well as being a lecturer for judo at the German Sport University in Cologne for many years. He further developed his skills during two language and study visits to Japan. He shaped the training and examination regulations of the German Judo Association (DJB). Hofmann published together with the Japanese Mahito Ohgo a standard book about judo, Judo - Basics of Tachi- Waza and Ne-Waza, in the early 1970s, writing in the foreword: "Above all, judo means: practicing on the mat, moving, fighting with many partners, or, as the Japanese say, understanding with the body". Hofmann died on 12 March 2020 about two weeks shy of his 79th birthday.

2. Wilfried Dietrich (1933 - 1992)

With an HPI of 58.13, Wilfried Dietrich is the 2nd most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Wilfried Dietrich (14 October 1933 – 2 June 1992) was a German heavyweight wrestler. Between 1956 and 1972 he took part in five Olympics and six world championships, often entering both the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling contests – a feat unmatched by any other wrestler. He won five Olympic and five world championship medals, becoming an Olympic (1960), World (1961) and European champion (1967). Between 1955 and 1962 he won all his freestyle bouts. In 1968 Dietrich was selected as the Olympic flag bearer for West Germany at its first appearance at the Summer Olympics; he won a bronze medal at those games. He failed to medal at his last Olympics in 1972, yet he produced the most spectacular victory of his career by throwing over his back the 182 kg American Chris Taylor in the Greco-Roman contest. Dietrich lost to Taylor in their freestyle bout. In 2008 he was inducted into the Germany's Sports Hall of Fame and in 2014 to the International Wrestling Hall of Fame.

3. Georg Gehring (1903 - 1943)

With an HPI of 55.80, Georg Gehring is the 3rd most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Georg Gehring (14 November 1903 in Frankenthal – 31 October 1943 in Dnipro) was a German wrestler who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics, in the 1932 Summer Olympics, and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was killed in action during World War II.

4. Klaus Glahn (b. 1942)

With an HPI of 53.71, Klaus Glahn is the 4th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Klaus Glahn (born 23 March 1942) is a retired West German judoka who competed at the 1964 and 1972 Olympics. In 1964 he won a bronze medal in the openweight class while representing the United Team of Germany. Eight years later he won a silver medal for West Germany in the heavyweight category. Between 1967 and 1973 Glahn won five medals at World Championships in the heavyweight and open divisions. He also won three European heavyweight titles, in 1963, 1968 and 1970. From 1985 to 1988 Glahn was president of the German Judo Federation. He also worked as a manager at Volkswagen Group. In the 2000s Glahn was active in politics. He was a leading candidate from the Rentnerinnen- und Rentner-Partei (RRP) at the 2009 European Parliament election.

5. Katarina Waters (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 47.87, Katarina Waters is the 5th most famous German Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Katarina Leigh Waters (born 10 November 1980) is a German-born English American filmmaker, actress, and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Impact Wrestling under the ring names Katarina or Winter and for her time in WWE under the ring name Katie Lea Burchill. She spent many years on the independent circuit, particularly in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, where she used the ring name Nikita. After signing with WWE, she competed in their former developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling, where she became a two time Women's Champion, before being called up to the main roster. After being released from the WWE in April 2010, Waters joined TNA in August 2010, adopting the new ring name Winter. During her first year in the company, she won both of the promotion's women's championships, first teaming with Angelina Love to win the Knockouts Tag Team Championship in December 2010 and then winning the Knockouts Championship two times in June and August 2011.

6. Maik Bullmann (b. 1967)

With an HPI of 47.79, Maik Bullmann is the 6th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Maik Bullmann (also known as Mike Bullmann, born 25 April 1967) is a German Greco-Roman wrestler. He is an Olympic champion and three-time World Champion.

7. Ole Bischof (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 47.03, Ole Bischof is the 7th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ole Bischof (born 27 August 1979 in Reutlingen) is a German judoka. He is trained by 1984 Olympic gold medalist Frank Wieneke.

8. Kerstin Thiele (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 42.57, Kerstin Thiele is the 8th most famous German Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Kerstin Thiele (born 26 August 1986, in Riesa, Bezirk Dresden, East Germany) is a German judoka and a silver medallist at the Olympic Games 2012 in London. Kerstin Thiele is a German champion in judo in the Middleweight (‍–‍70 kg) division. She competes for the German club JC Leipzig, and was part of the German national team. At the 2012 Olympics she reached the women's middleweight judo final vs. Lucie Décosse, who won the gold medal. On the way Thiele beat Moira de Villiers, Anett Meszaros, Edith Bosch and Chen Fei.

9. Yvonne Bönisch (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 42.34, Yvonne Bönisch is the 9th most famous German Wrestler. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Yvonne Snir-Bönisch (née Bönisch; born 29 December 1980 in Ludwigsfelde, East Germany) is a German judo coach and former judoka.

10. Frank Stäbler (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 40.99, Frank Stäbler is the 10th most famous German Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Frank Stäbler (also spelled Staebler; born 27 June 1989) is a German Greco-Roman wrestler. He won the 2012 European Championship and 2015 World Championship in the welterweight category. Stäbler trains at TSV Musberg in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany, coached by Janis Zamanduridis from the national wrestling team.

People

Pantheon has 23 people classified as German wrestlers born between 1903 and 1999. Of these 23, 20 (86.96%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living German wrestlers include Klaus Glahn, Katarina Waters, and Maik Bullmann. The most famous deceased German wrestlers include Wolfgang Hofmann, Wilfried Dietrich, and Georg Gehring. As of April 2024, 2 new German wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Miriam Butkereit, and Johannes Frey.