German Olympic Champion Klaus KOESTE celebrates 65th birthday

KLaus Köste, Leipzig

When Walter Steffens, Olympic Champion of 1936 and last gymnast of the golden squad of 1936 died in summer 2006 in his hometown Barnstorf, Klaus KOESTE from Leipzig stated laconically: "...my God, now I am the Germany's oldest Olympic gymnastics champion...!"
Today the Olympic Champion on vault (Munich 1972) and double European Champion on high bar (1971/72) celebrates his 65th birthday in his native town Kossen, near Leipzig, together with his family and a lot of gymnastics friends. After Helmut Bantz in Western Germany (Melbourne 1956), Köste was the first Olympic Champion in gymnastics in the GDR and became a legend of gymnastics with incredible 34 national champion's titles and a total of 11 international medals...

... the Golden vault in Munich

At his third Olympic Games and the gain of three bronze medals with the team, he surprisingly beat favorite Nikolai Andrianow and also the unlucky Japanese Eizo Kenmotsu and Sawao Kato.
After a life-threatening vessel disease in 2005, which he fortunately survived, he slowly found back to the gymnastics apparatuses and trains regularly as the youngest in a seniors' squad in Leipzig

Politically committed, Klaus KÖSTE stood beside the German cycling legend Gustav Adolf SCHUR for four years, who represented the German party PDS as a member of the Bundestag from 1998 until 2006.
Together with "Täve" (nickname of Schur) and the former athlete Gunhild HOFMEISTER he realised the campaign "Sportsmen against the war in Iraq" in 2003.

This peace list - which was handed over to the UN - was signed by about 2.400 high-ranking representatives of German sports in East and West, among them 116 Olympic Champions and 600 winners of international medals. It became one of the greatest peace campaigns in the history of German sports.

Köste, accurate: ... at the Gymnastics festival in Freyburg

Of course he has become much more careful after his disease, but for the champion of the German gymnastics festival Klaus Köste only became fit for everyday life again with the help of his gymnastics apparatuses.
The gymnastics legend is a welcome guest at a lot of gymnastics and sports events and always an ambassador for his beloved discipline.
E. Herholz, GYMmedia

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