athletics
Former pole vaulter Fabian Schulze dies shortly before his 40th birthday
The German pole vaulter Fabian Schulze at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona 2010
© Rainer Jensen / DPA
Former pole vaulter Fabian Schulze is dead. As the German Athletics Association announced, he died in his adopted home of Sonthofen.
Former pole vaulter Fabian Schulze is dead. As the German Athletics Association (DLV) announced on Wednesday, Schulze “died of a treacherous illness” in his adopted home of Sonthofen a few days before his 40th birthday.
Schulze started for the athletics community (LG) Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Salamander Kornwestheim-Ludwigsburg, the LG Stadtwerke Munich and the Association for Physical Exercise (VfL) Sindelfingen.
Fabian Schulze’s best height: 5.83 meters
“Fabian was a long-time companion, I always looked up to him,” said former sprinter Marius Broening, affected by the news. The three Swabians Fabian Schulze, Tobias Unger and Marius Broening lived together in a shared apartment during their active time at LG Stadtwerke Munich. “Fabian became a friend during our time together at Kornwestheim and in Munich,” remembers Tobias Unger, “I am deeply sad and can hardly find words.”
The long-time national pole vault coach Herbert Czingon praised Schulze as a “friendly comrade who was always in the scene with a smile on his face.”
Schulze was fourth at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, fifth at the 2005 European Indoor Championships in Madrid, sixth at the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona and was German runner-up four times.
His best height of 5.83 meters brought him to ninth place on the German best list. Schulze leaves behind his wife and two children.
Source: DLV