Fabian Hambüchen
Hambüchen in 2019
Personal information
Country represented Germany
Born (1987-10-25) 25 October 1987
Bergisch Gladbach, West Germany
ResidenceWetzlar, Germany
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
DisciplineArtistic gymnastics
LevelSenior international
ClubTSG Niedergirmes, Wetzlar; KTV Straubenhardt, Straubenhardt
Head coach(es)Wolfgang Hambüchen
Medal record
Men's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Germany
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 1
World Championships 1 2 6
European Championships 6 2 3
European Games 1 1 0
Summer Universiade 1 2 0
Total 10 8 10
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de JaneiroHorizontal bar
Silver medal – second place2012 LondonHorizontal bar
Bronze medal – third place2008 BeijingHorizontal bar
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2007 StuttgartHorizontal bar
Silver medal – second place2007 StuttgartAll-around
Silver medal – second place2013 AntwerpHorizontal bar
Bronze medal – third place2006 AarhusAll-around
Bronze medal – third place2006 AarhusVault
Bronze medal – third place2007 StuttgartTeam
Bronze medal – third place2010 RotterdamTeam
Bronze medal – third place2010 RotterdamHorizontal bar
Bronze medal – third place2013 AntwerpAll-around
European Games
Gold medal – first place2015 BakuHorizontal bar
Silver medal – second place2015 BakuFloor exercise
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2005 DebrecenHorizontal bar
Gold medal – first place2007 AmsterdamHorizontal bar
Gold medal – first place2008 LausanneHorizontal bar
Gold medal – first place2009 MilanAll-around
Gold medal – first place2009 Milan Floor exercise
Gold medal – first place2010 Birmingham Team
Silver medal – second place2007 AmsterdamAll-around
Silver medal – second place2008 LausanneTeam
Bronze medal – third place2008 LausanneFloor exercise
Bronze medal – third place2009 MilanParallel bars
Bronze medal – third place2010 BirminghamHorizontal bar
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place2015 GwangjiHorizontal bar
Silver medal – second place2013 KazanAll-around
Silver medal – second place2013 KazanFloor exercise

Fabian Hambüchen (also spelled Hambuechen; German pronunciation: [ˈfaːbi̯aːn ˈhamˌbyːçn̩] ⓘ; born 25 October 1987) is a retired German gymnast who was a Olympian champion in 2016. Fabian also won gold medals at European Games and at 2015 Summer Universiade. He has a full set of Olympics medals, one in each colour, as he is the 2016 Olympic champion, 2012 Olympic silver medalist and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist on the individual horizontal bar event.[1] He became World champion on horizontal bar in 2007 Stuttgart. Since the end of his active career, he has appeared in various television productions and advertising partnerships.

Early life and education

Hambüchen was born on 25 October 1987 as the second child of Beate Hambüchen and the gymnastics coach Wolfgang Hambüchen in Bergisch Gladbach in West-Germany. His ancestors were the painters Georg and Wilhelm Hambüchen while his cousin is the famous German publicist and lawyer Ulrich Hambüchen. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Wetzlar. Fabian attended the Goetheschule Wetzlar until his abitur in 2007. Alongside his education he was coached by his father.[2] In October 2012, he began studying sports management and communication at the German Sport University Cologne.[3] After completing his basic studies, Hambüchen decided in 2015 to change his course of study to sport and performance,[4][5] graduating in 2020.

Career

Athletic career

Hambüchen's first major senior competition was the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim. He competed 4 events in qualifications but the German team did not advance to the team final.

Hambüchen was the youngest German athlete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where the German team placed 8th in the team event final. Individually, Hambüchen finished 23rd in the all-around and 7th in the horizontal bar individual event finals.

in 2005, Hambüchen won the horizontal bar title at the 2005 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. At the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Hambüchen competed 3 events in qualifications and placed 4th in the horizontal bar individual event finals.

2006

Hambüchen competed at the 2006 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships where the German team placed 7th. Individually, 2005 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships placed 5th in the vault and 7th in the parallel bars individual event finals.

At the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Hambüchen won his first World Championship medal at the age of 18 with bronze in the all-around individual event final. He also won a bronze on vault despite having the lowest combined difficulty in the individual event final. The German team placed 7th in the team event final, with Hambüchen contributing scores on 5 events. However, Hambüchen did not qualify for the horizontal bar individual event final.

2007

Hambüchen at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

In 2007, Hambüchen competed at the 2007 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships where he won the silver medal in the all-around and won the horizontal bar individual event title, the latter for the second time.

The 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in Stuttgart and the German team won the bronze medal in front of the home crowd, with Hambüchen contributing on 4 events. Individually, Hambüchen won the silver medal in the all-around individual event behind reigning world champion Yang Wei. He then won the gold medal in the horizontal bar individual event final, becoming world champion on that event. In the vault individual event final, he placed 5th.

In 2007, he was named the German Sportspersonality of the Year.

2008

At the 2008 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships the German team won the silver medal, with Hambüchen contributing on 5 events. He qualified for 4 individual event finals, winning the bronze medal on floor, placing 5th on both vault and parallel bars, and defending his European title on the horizontal bar, making it his second consecutive European title on that event and third overall.

Going into the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Hambüchen was considered the favourite for the horizontal bar title and a strong contender for an all-around medal. He qualified to 4 individual event finals including second into the all-around and was the top qualifier for the horizontal bar. The German team placed 4th in the team event final, with Hambüchen contributing scores on 5 events. However in the all-around individual event final, Hambüchen fell on the horizontal bar and placed 7th. He then placed 4th in the floor and parallel bars individual event finals. He then won his first Olympic Medal with a bronze in the horizontal bar individual event final.

2009

At the 2009 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Hambüchen won the individual all-around title and the floor title. He also placed 7th in the vault and won the bronze medal in parallel bars individual event finals. He did not qualify for the high bar individual event final. Hambüchen had to pull out of the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships due to an injury to his foot. He was considered a frontrunner for the all-around and horizontal bar titles.[6]

2010

At the 2010 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Hambüchen contributed scores on 5 events towards the German team winning the European title. Individually, he placed 8th in the rings individual event final, and tied for the bronze medal with his teammate Philipp Boy in the horizontal bar individual event final. At the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Hambüchen did not compete in the all-around due to an injured Achilles tendon, but he contributed scores on 3 events to the German team's bronze medal. He also qualified to the parallel bars individual event final, placing 4th, and the horizontal bar individual event fina where he won the bronze medal.

2011

In January 2011, Hambüchen tore his Achilles tendon, which kept him out of competition at the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin. He recovered in time for the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships where he once again contributed scores on 5 events in the team event final, and Germany finished 5th. He competed all 6 events in qualifications but did not advance to the all-around individual event final due to the rule that only 2 gymnasts from each country can advance to an individual event final, as Philipp Boy and Marcel Nguyen both qualified ahead of Hambüchen. He qualified to the horizontal bar individual event final where he placed 4th.

2012

In 2012, Hambüchen once again missed the European Championships, as he wanted to focus on preparation for the Olympics. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he qualified 3rd into the all-round and 4th into the horizontal bar individual event final. He contributed scores on 5 events to the German team's 7th place finish. However, he had multiple large mistakes in the all-around individual event final, once again including a fall from the horizontal bar, finishing in 15th place. In the horizontal bar individual event final, he won his second Olympic medal, winning the silver behind Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands.

2013

At the 2013 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Hambüchen qualified to the horizontal bar individual event final but placed 6th after a fall. In July, he compete at the 2013 Summer Universiade where the German team placed 4th. Hambüchen won the silver medal in the all-around behind Russian Nikolai Kuksenkov, beating 2013 European Champion David Belyavskiy. He also won silver in the floor individual event final behind Japan's Ryohei Kato. He competed at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships where he won the bronze medal in the all-around individual event final. He also finished in 7th place in the floor and won a silver medal in the horizontal bar individual event finals, once again in a close battle behind Zonderland.

2014

Hambüchen in 2014

At the 2014 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships the German team finished in 4th, with Hambüchen once again contributing scores on 5 events to the team total. He qualified in second to the horizontal bar individual event final, but had a bad fall during the final and did not finish his routine, ending up in 8th place. At the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the German team finished in 8th place. Hambüchen also finished in 8th place in the all-around individual event final but did not qualify to the horizontal bar individual event final after falling in qualifications.

2015

Hambüchen did not compete in the 2015 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. In June, he competed at the 2015 European Games where he finished 5th in the all-around and won the gold medal on the horizontal bar individual event finals. In July, he competed at the 2015 Summer Universiade where he won the gold medal on the horizontal bar individual event final. At the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships the German team did not qualify for the team final, and therefore missed automatic qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Hambüchen qualified to the all-around individual event final in 27th place but withdrew due to illness. He also qualified to the horizontal bar individual event final in 4th place, but finished in 7th after executing a poor routine.

2016

Hambüchen was unable to compete for the first half of 2016 due to a shoulder injury. He was unable to compete in the Olympic test event where the German team secured their place for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Hambüchen returned to competition on three events (floor, vault and the horizontal bar) at the German Olympic trials. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the German team placed seventh in the team final, with Hambüchen contributing on 3 events. He qualified in 1st place for the horizontal bar individual event final where he won his third Olympic medal and first Olympic gold, becoming the Olympic horizontal bar champion. With an Olympic gold medal in 2016, Hambüchen has completed the full collection set of horizontal bar medals in each colour at separate Olympics, improving his standings every subsequent four years from a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, then a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, and finally to the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Hambüchen retired after the 2016 Rio Olympics, stating that his Olympic title was "a dream come true".[7] He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2022.[8]

Remaining career

In 2010 he published his autobiography Fabian Hambüchen – Die Autobiografie. Outside of his active career, Hambüchen has appeared in various game shows and as a expert in talk shows. Since the end of his active career, he has worked as a gymnastics expert for the ARD. He accompanied the coverage of the Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics as well as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as an expert, reporter and presenter for Eurosport. In addition, he actively tried out numerous Olympic sports himself, such as canoe slalom, in the TV series Hambüchen Challenge. He collaboreates together with the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs as an advocate for adult literacy education and is called the "Hessen's ambassador for literacy".[9]

Personal life

In July 2022, he married fitness trainer Viktoria Diesterbeck, whom he met in 2020.[10][11] He currently lives in Wetzlar. Because of his short height he has been nicknamed "Turnfloh" (meaning "gymnastics flea").

Competitive History

Year Championship Team Men's Individual Events
AA FX PH SR VT PB HB
2005
European Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)
2006
European Championships757
World Championships73rd place, bronze medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2007
European Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
World Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)5
2008
European Championships2nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)5
Olympic Games47443rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2009
European Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)73rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2010
European Championships1st place, gold medalist(s)83rd place, bronze medalist(s)
World Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)4
2011
World Championships54
2012
Olympic Games7152nd place, silver medalist(s)
2013
European Championships6
Summer Universiade42nd place, silver medalist(s)
World Championships3rd place, bronze medalist(s)72nd place, silver medalist(s)
2014
European Championships48
World Championships88
2015European Games52nd place, silver medalist(s)1st place, gold medalist(s)
Summer Universiade
World Championships27, WD7
2016
Olympic Games71st place, gold medalist(s)

Works

Books

  • 2010: Fabian Hambüchen – Die Autobiografie (ISBN 978-3-89602-948-5)

Television

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Fabian Hambüchen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Hambüchen wechselt nach Stuttgart". www.spox.com (in German). 11 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Turnstar Hambüchen beginnt Studium in Köln". DIE WELT (in German). 8 October 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. ↑ Michael (19 November 2015). "Keine WG-Parties, aber viel gelernt! Fabian Hambüchen turnt zwischen Studium und Hochleistungssport". Magazin Jobmensa. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Bekannte Studierende und Alumni". Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln (in German). Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Injury knocks all-around favorite from gym worlds. Associated Press, 2009-10-12
  7. ↑ "Gold bars for Verniaiev and Hambuechen in men's gymnastics".
  8. ↑ "Fabian Hambuechen | the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame". www.ighof.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "Alphabetisierung: Angebote und Ansprechpartner". Hessisches Kultusministerium (in German). August 2017. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Hochzeit in Wetzlar. Fabian Hambüchen sagt Ja zu seiner Viktoria". N-tv (in German). 18 July 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Fabian Hambüchen: Olympiasieger verrät intime Details über sein Liebesleben mit Ehefrau Viktoria". gala.de (in German). 17 February 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
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