Frank Baumgartl was an East German track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete, who specialized in the 3000 meters steeplechase. He was born in Bad Schlema

Bad Schlema

Bad Schlema is a community in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in the Free State of Saxony in Germany and belongs to the Silberberg Town League . Through town runs the Silver Road...

.

At the 1976 Summer Olympics

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

 in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 Frank Baumgartl won the Olympic bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 in a new personal best time of 8:10.36 minutes. Approaching the last obstacle, he was just behind Anders Garderud

Anders Gärderud

Sven Anders Gärderud is a Swedish former athlete, winner of 3000 m steeplechase at the 1976 Summer Olympics....

 of Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, who was in the lead. Baumgartl seemed even about to pass Garderud. However, as Baumgartl was about to challenge Garderud for the gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

, he misjudged the steeple barrier and fell. Baumgartl was then passed by Bronisław Malinowski, a veteran steeplechaser, who took the silver

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 (Malinowski also won the gold in Moscow 1980 Olympic steeplechase) medal. Baumgartl recovered, and took the bronze medal. Baumgartl's time remained his career best, and places him third on the German all-time performers list behind Damian Kallabis

Damian Kallabis

Damian Kallabis is a retired German runner who specialized in the 3000 metres steeplechase.In 1997 his personal best time was 8:37.35 minutes. The next year he sensationally won the European Championships, lowering his personal best time to 8:13.10 minutes...

 and Hagen Melzer

Hagen Melzer

Hagen Melzer is a former German middle and long distance runner who specialized in the 3000 m steeplechase....

.

Baumgartl never became East German champion. He competed for the sports club SC Karl-Marx-Stadt during his active career. He died in Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

in August 2010.