Waldemar “Waldi” Hartmann

About Waldemar “Waldi” Hartmann

Waldemar Hartmann is regarded as the cornerstone of German sports reporting. With his friendly and jovial manner, he quickly made a name for himself.

His presentations at major events soon became a fixed part of the ARD sports program. At eleven Olympic Games, five FIFA World Cups, and numerous other major events such as the Biathlon or Alpine Skiing World Championships, Waldemar Hartmann was at the forefront at the First Channel.

From 1992 to 1998, he served as the head of the sports editorial team at Bayerischer Rundfunk. He stepped back from the desk to have time for additional broadcasts.

In fifty episodes, he drew out more from the “who’s who” of German sports (from Franziska van Almsick to Franz Beckenbauer and Fritz Walter) in the show “Augenblicke” than they actually wanted to reveal. For eight years, he was a successful citizen advocate in the BR show “Ohne Gewähr.”

“Waldi” then ventured into new territory in 2006 at the Olympic Games in Turin. Together with Harald Schmidt, he created a new format in sports with “Waldi und Harry.” The extremely high ratings led the ARD executives to decide to send the “Tall One” and the “Chubby One” back into the fray at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and at the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine, the format “Waldis Club” continued with record ratings, which had premiered at the 2006 World Cup. Waldemar Hartmann always managed to gather a wide audience in a relaxed pub atmosphere in front of the television late at night.

No one knows how to tell confidential stories quite like him. Whether it’s football, boxing, the Olympics, or society: Waldemar Hartmann was on air for over 30 years and talked with celebrities of every format in the studio and afterwards.

Alongside his successful book “Dritte Halbzeit,” which landed on the “Spiegel Bestseller List” shortly after its release, Hartmann shares anecdotes and stories in his live program “Born to be Waldi” from his more than “30 years in the TV station,” telling the tales he had always kept to himself on television.