It was a very big year of his career: in 1954, Heinz Fütterer was voted "Sportsman of the Year" - even ahead of the football world champion Fritz Walter, who came second after the "Miracle of Bern". In the same year, Fütterer set the 100-meter world record of Jesse Owens when he ran in Japan hand-stopped 10.2 seconds. Not for nothing he was called the "white lightning".
The trained fisherman and later successful businessman was three times European champion between 1954 and 1958 and won the 1956 Olympic bronze medal with the German 4 x 100-meter relay. Fütterer never ran against the great Jesse Owens, and yet his name is closely linked to the athletics icon.
In the night of Sunday, the former sprint star of Germany died . He succumbed to a brief serious illness at the age of 87 years. According to his son he died at home in Elchesheim-Illingen in Baden.
On the occasion of his 85th birthday, Fütterer said in an interview with the German Press Agency: "I'm fine so far." His recipe: daily in the in-house gym and his elixir from the Black Forest - the milk.
During his heyday, Fütterer was the fastest man in the world. The athlete from Karlsruher SC won 536 international races, remained unbeaten from 1953 to 1955 and was 1954 European champion over 100 and 200 meters. His European record over 200 meters (20.8 seconds) lasted over 20 years. Fütterer usually played over 100 races per season.