View source for Stephan Freigang

{{short description|German long-distance runner}}
'''Stephan Timo Freigang ''' (born 27 September 1967, in [[Hohenleipisch]], [[Brandenburg]]) is a former [[long-distance runner]] from [[Germany]], who won the bronze medal in the men's [[marathon (sport)|marathon]] at the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] in [[Barcelona, Spain]]. He also competed for his native country at the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. He was a three-time participant at the [[World Championships in Athletics]] (1991, 1993 and 1995).

==Life and sports==
{{unreferencedsect|date=June 2025}}
As a youth, Freigang ran long-distance races. As a 16-year-old he took part in 15&nbsp;km runs. In 1986, he was fourth at the [[1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]] in the 10,000 meter run and in the 20&nbsp;km run.  He ran his first marathon in 1987 with a time of 2 hours 14 min. 34 sec. He sporting career was in question in 1989 after a bad motorcycle accident, but in 1990 he was once again one of the top German runners and took place in the September sporting event in Berlin and recorded a time of 28:05 in the 10,000, a result that was the best by a German that year. He won the [[Berlin Half Marathon]] in 1990 and 1992.

At the 1992 Olympic games he planned to run the 10,000 meters, but he failed to qualify for the German team in that event. But with a marathon time of 2 hours 12 minutes in Palermo, December 1991, he was still able to join the Olympic team. The marathon at the games came to a dramatic end. He reached the stadium in third place, but was overtaken by [[Takeyuji Nakayama]] of Japan. Even so, he was able to overtake Nakayama to take the bronze.

After his Olympic medal he had no further important results in international competitions. Freigang represented first LC Cottbus and trained with Dieter Bittermann. In 2002, he represented SC DHfK Leipzig and has trained under Karl-Heinz Baumback and Dr. Thomas Prochnow. In 2005, he retired from sport. During his career, he was 1.76 meters tall and weighed 65 kilograms.

==International competitions==
{| {{AchievementTable|Event=yes}}
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{GDR}}
|-
|rowspan=2|1986
|rowspan=2|[[1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics|World Junior Championships]]
|rowspan=2|[[Athens]], [[Greece]]
|4th
|10,000m
|[[1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres|29:53.52]]
|-
|4th
|20&nbsp;km road run
|[[1986 World Junior Championships in Athletics – Men's 20 kilometres road run|1:04:52]]
|-
!colspan="6"|Representing {{GER}}
|-
|1992
|[[Athletics at the 1992 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Barcelona, Spain]]
|bgcolor="cc9966"| 3rd
|Marathon
|2:14:00
|-
|1994
|[[1994 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]]
|[[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]
|10th
|10,000m
|[[1994 European Athletics Championships – Men's 10,000 metres|28:15.98]]
|-
|1996
|[[Athletics at the 1996 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]
|[[Atlanta, Georgia]], [[United States|U.S.]]
|&mdash;
|Marathon
|DNF
|-
|1998
|[[1998 European Athletics Championships|European Championships]] 
|[[Budapest, Hungary]]
|24th
|Marathon
|[[1998 European Athletics Championships – Men's marathon|2:17:24]]
|}

==Marathons==
{| {{AchievementTable}}
|-
|1987
|[[Budapest Marathon]]
|[[Budapest]], Hungary
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:14:34
|-
|1988
|[[Fukuoka Marathon]]
|[[Fukuoka, Fukuoka|Fukuoka]], Japan
|8th
|2:12:28
|-
|1990
|[[Berlin Marathon]]
|[[Berlin, Germany]]
|4th
|2:09:45
|-
|1991
|[[Palermo Marathon]]
|[[Palermo]], Italy
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:12:00
|-
|1993
|[[Frankfurt Marathon]]
|[[Frankfurt]], Germany
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:11:53
|-
|1995
|[[Tokyo Marathon]]
|[[Tokyo, Japan]]
|bgcolor="silver" | 2nd
|2:10:12
|-
|1997
|[[Cologne Marathon]]
|[[Cologne]], Germany
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:11:58
|-
|rowspan=2|1998
|[[Frankfurt Marathon]]
|[[Frankfurt]], Germany
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:12:58
|-
|[[Hanover Marathon]]
|[[Hanover]], Germany
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:12:16
|-
|1999
|[[Hanover Marathon]]
|[[Hanover]], Germany
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:13:48
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
|[[Leipzig Marathon]]
|[[Leipzig]], Germany
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:15:57
|-
|[[Lisbon Marathon]]
|[[Lisbon]], Portugal
|bgcolor="gold" | 1st
|2:14:27
|-
|2002
|[[Leipzig Marathon]]
|[[Leipzig]], Germany
|bgcolor="silver" | 2nd
|2:20:11
|}

==References==
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{in lang|de}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519035447/http://www.bergfieber.de/laufen/toplaeufer/freigang.htm Profile]

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{marathon winner succession|marathon=Leipzig|sex=m
|before=[[Stanisław Cembrzyński]]|after=[[Carsten Eich]]
|year=2001|through=
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Footer Universiade Champions 10000m Men}}
{{Footer Cologne Marathon Champions Men}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freigang, Stephan}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:German male long-distance runners]]
[[Category:German male marathon runners]]
[[Category:East German male marathon runners]]
[[Category:East German male long-distance runners]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Germany]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Germany]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany]]
[[Category:Athletes from Brandenburg]]
[[Category:Frankfurt Marathon male winners]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:FISU World University Games gold medalists for Germany]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade]]
[[Category:Olympic male marathon runners]]
[[Category:East German Athletics Championships winners]]