East German boxer Jochen Bachfeld from Schwerin won his first bout in the featherweight class at the 1972 München Olympics against his West German opponent Peter Prause by a 5-0 decision. He then won his next fight against Britain’s Billy Taylor, also by a 5-0 decision, but then lost against Romanian Gabriel Pometcu. Four years later in Montréal he claimed the gold medal in his greatest moment, beating great Romanian Victor Zilberman in a close semifinal by a 3-2 decision and also in the final versus Pedro José Gamarro from Venezuela.
Bachfeld burst into the international scene in 1970 when he only lost in the final at the Youth Europeans against Hungarian’s non-Olympian Peter Gluck. At the 1974 Havana Worlds he lost his first round bout against Soviet Russian Vassily Solomin. At the 1978 Beograd Worlds he lost in the eighth-final. He won his two GDR national titles in both Olympic years. By profession, Bachfeld worked in a GDR combine until reunification and later became a hotel manager. He was also active as a youth coach with his home club SC Traktor Schwerin.
East Germany