Reinhold Viktor POMMER

Reinhold Pommer was born in the Sudetenland and came to Haßfurt in 1946 together with his mother and his siblings, following resettlement after World War II. At the age of 19 he took part in his first bicycle road race at the national level. He competed for six years as an amateur and then four years professionally. The contemporary amateur status rules prevented him from starting at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Overall he won 35 victories in national and international races and achieved several more podiums. He also took part in five World Championships and the 1958 and 1960 Tour de France, which he unfortunately could not finish due to falls and bike damage.

During the Olympic road race at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics he was the only participant from West Germany in the all-German team, along with [Erich Hagen] (/athletes/14623), [Gustav-Adolf Schur] (/athletes/16513) and [Horst Tüller] (/athletes/16924) from the former GDR. Due to internal team rivalry they narrowly missed the gold medal. After winning the bronze medal Reinhold Pommer was awarded the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, the highest sports award in Germany. Starting in 1962, several knee surgeries forced him to end his career. In later years he devoted himself to his ranch, breeding Haflinger horses, his family and his grandchildren.