Photo: Häßler, Ulrich / CC BY-SA 3.0 de (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Schaffer belongs to a generation of East German athletes whose careers were inseparable from Cold War machinery, and I find his story compelling precisely because the stopwatch cut through all of that. A 44.87 in 1980 was world-class, full stop, and the relay silver alongside Beck and company shows he could deliver when it mattered most. What draws me to him is the imagined arc from an industrial town like Eisenhüttenstadt to an Olympic podium. He never became a household name in the West, but I respect quiet excellence built on raw lap times more than manufactured fame.
Overview
Frank Schaffer (born 23 October 1958 in Stalinstadt (today Eisenhüttenstadt), Bezirk Frankfurt) is an East German retired athlete who specialised in the 400 metres. He won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics in a lifetime best time of 44.87 seconds. He also assisted the East German team of Klaus Thiele, Andreas Knebel and Volker Beck in winning the silver medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Frank Schaffer
- Name (Japanese)
- フランク・シャファー
- Reading
- ふらんく・しゃふぁー
- Born
- October 23, 1958 (age 67)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Dog
- Origin
- Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, Germany
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 188 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- athletics competitor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- Patriotic Order of Merit in Bronze
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Athletics competitor — see all → · More people from Germany →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.