Greco-Roman welterweight wrestler Rudolf Vesper won two silver medals at the 1963 and 1967 World Championships. At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 he was disappointingly eliminated after the third round, but in Mexico City he crowned his wrestling career by winning a surprising gold medal, then representing East Germany. In 1970, he added a bronze medal at the Europeans. Nationally, Vesper won nine East German titles. Vesper was trained as a carpenter, but later studied education and became a teacher for sports, social studies and vocational trainings.
