Main areas of research:
· Gymnastics and Athletics in Greco-Roman Antiquity
· History and Ideology of the modern Olympic Movement
· Sport and Politics
· Sport and Culture
More than 250 publications, including studies on the impact of antiquity on the origin and ideological development of the modern Olympic Movement, in particular on its claim to contribute to international understanding and peace
1962-1967 Studies of sports science at the German Sport University Cologne and of Classical Philology at Cologne University.
1967 Doctorate in classical philology
Selected offices and functions:
1972-2004 Secretary General, President and Vice-President of the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport (ISHPES)
1975 Appointment as Full Professor and Director of the Institute for Sport History at the German Sport University Cologne
Since 1975 Editor of STADION, International Journal for the History of Sport
Since 1981 Initiator and head of the development staff of the German Sports and Olympic Museum in Cologne
1993 Initiator of the foundation of the German Olympic Institute in Berlin
Since 2007 Executive Board Member of the German Olympic Academy (DOA)
2012 Pierre de Coubertin Award of the International Society of Olympic Historians
Since 2018 President of the European Olympic Academies (EOA).
