Matthias Steiner

About

Former Austrian-German weightlifter and Olympic gold medalist. He competed for Austria internationally from 1998 to 2005 in European and World Championships and the 2004 Summer Olympics. He is a four time Austrian National Champion and holds Austrian records in the −105 kg and +105 kg categories. After moving to Germany, he continued his career and won the overall silver at the 2008 European Championships and the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. 

Before Fame

After attending primary and secondary school in Austria, he completed an apprenticeship in plumbing. He started weightlifting in 1995, following in his father's footsteps. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on his 18th birthday. 

Trivia

His matthiassteiner_official Instagram has gained over 50,000 followers and features photos of him with his wife and sons spending time in nature. He also posts pictures of himself lifting and weight training, as well as holding up medals and awards from previous victories. He has created a line of protein based food products that he endorses on his page. He also uses his platform to promote diabetes awareness. 

Family Life

His father is Friedrich Steiner, a 20-time IWF Masters World Weightlifting Champion who ranks first on the IWF 2008 Hall of Fame Survey of Leading Master Lifters. His first wife, Susann, was a German woman who was killed in a car accident in 2007. In 2008 he met German TV-newsreader Inge Posmyk and the two were married in February 2011. 

Associated With

In December of 2018 he shared a picture of himself with triathlete Patrick Lange at an awards ceremony, with Lange holding his award.