Sybille Gruner
Birth dateMay 18, 1969 (age 57)
Birth placeErfurt, East Germany
PositionCentre back
NationalityGerman
Years 11979-1983
Clubs 1UT Erfurt
Years 21983-1990
Clubs 2SC Leipzig
Years 31990-2002
Clubs 3Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Nationalteam 1Germany
Nationalcaps 1135
Nationalgoals 1296
Managerclubs 1Bayer 04 Leverkusen (assistant)
Manageryears 12002-2006
Managerclubs 2Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth team
Manageryears 22013-2018
Managerclubs 3TuS Königsdorf
Manageryears 32018-
Managerclubs 4Germany U17
Manageryears 42020-2021

Sybille Gruner (born 18 May 1969 in Erfurt, East Germany) was a member of the German women's national handball team between 1989 and 1995. In 1993 the team won the world championship in a very close game against Denmark.[1] One year later, during the European championship final in Berlin, they played the Danish team again and lost.

At the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 the team had high hopes of a medal but placed a disappointing fourth. In the play-off for the bronze medal they lost against the odds-on favourite, Russia.

Club career

Gruner attended Kinder- und Jugendsportschule in Leipzig, a special school for athletically talented children. At the age of 14 she moved to SC Leipzig.[2] At the age of 16 she was a member of the senior SC Leipzig team that won the European cup.[3] She has also won several national titles with SC Leipzig followed.

In 1990 she moved to Leverkusen and played for Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the next 12 years.[2] After the birth of her first daughter and winning the national cup she ended her active career as a handball player.[3]

National team

She played 133 national team games for the German national team.[2]

Coaching career

For the next 3 years following her retirement she worked as assistant coach at Bayer 04 Leverkusen and, after the birth of her second daughter in 2004, she returned for another year to the coaching bench. In 2013 she became the coach of the Bayer 04 Leverkusen youth team.[2] In April 2018 she became the youth coach at TuS Königsdorf.[4][5]

From October 2020 to December 2021 she coached the German U17 team.[6]

Private life

Since 2006 she has been working for TNT Innight.[citation needed] She married the former basketball player Bodo Kuczmann in 2004.

References

  1. ^ "Vor 22 Jahren: Deutschlands Frauen sind Weltmeister" (in German). Handball-World. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  2. ^ "Sybille "Bobby" Gruner: "Die Jugend bundesligatauglich machen"" (in German). Handball-World. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  3. ^ ""Bobby“ Gruner: DHB holt Weltmeisterin aus Königsdorf" (in German). Herz Helden. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Jugendbereich" (in German). TuS Königsdorf. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
  5. ^ "Königsdorfer Handballabteilung verpflichtet Weltmeisterin" (in German). lokalsport-rhein-erft-kreis.de. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Weltmeisterin Sybille Gruner künftig im Trainerteam für weibliches U17-Nationalteam" (in German). handball-world.news. Retrieved 30 October 2020.