Peter Kapustin: The athlete with a soft spot for dinosaurs

Created: 08/12/2022, 16:00

By: Birgit Lang

Congratulations came (from left): Mayor Stefan Haberl, daughters Natascha and Tatjana with Peter Kapustin, wife Maximiliane with grandson Constantin, son Peter with wife Ekaterina and grandson Alexander.

© Birgit Lang

Peter Kapustin from Taufkirchen is celebrating his 80th birthday.

He looks back on an eventful life, among other things he founded the Special Olympics Germany and together with his son the Prehistoric Museum.

Taufkirchen – Prof. Dr.

Peter Kapustin looking back.

In the field of sports in particular, he has achieved great merit, as well as in his adopted home of Taufkirchen.

He recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

Kapustin was born in Insterburg/East Prussia.

His Russian roots are reflected in the first names of his three children: Natascha, Tatjana and Peter.

After the Second World War, his family moved to Erding.

Here he attended secondary school and gained his first experience as an athlete.

At a classmate's birthday party, the then 18-year-old met 16-year-old Maximiliane Schnappauf.

Right from the first meeting, he had a "snack".

She was also impressed by him, but was still reluctant.

Due to their studies and work, the two rarely saw each other.

Only when Kapustin was 22 years old did the love story take its course and in October 1966 the two married.

His "Liane" looked after the family and supported him, especially during the years when he commuted from Würzburg to Taufkirchen, where the Kapustins have lived since 1979.

The jubilee studied chemistry, biology and sports to teach at high schools, became a lecturer at the Bavarian Sports Academy in 1968, received his doctorate and then from 1974 to 1980 became department head at the chair for sports education at the Technical University of Munich, from 1980 professor, full professor and head of the Institute for Sports Science at the University of Würzburg until his retirement in 2007. He then worked at private universities and technical colleges, such as the HAM Erding, where he is still a scientific advisor today.

Not to forget his many voluntary activities.

Since 1962 he was a trainer, coach and took on management tasks in Munich sports clubs and in the local Turngau.

From 1978 to 1990 he was a board member of TSV Taufkirchen, later his wife Liane even became the first chairman.

He also worked at a higher level, first as Vice President and then as President of the Bavarian State Sports Association (1988 to 2004) and as Vice President of the German Sports Federation for mass sports (1994 to 2004).

Kapustin was the founder and president of Special Olympics Germany (1991 to 2005), of which he is honorary president.

He had decades of experience with inclusive family sports activities at the University of Würzburg.

He brought this to the family sports club Lebenshilfe Würzburg, which he founded in 1985 and managed until 2010.

In the future, Kapustin viewed sport as a target group-oriented way, as an aid to a meaningful, healthy life.

"I was fortunate to be able to combine my job, honorary positions and, of course, my personal and family interests," he says.

Kapustin received many awards for his services, including the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande.

Kapustin was the initiator of heart group sports in Bavaria.

So he also left big traces in Taufkirchen.

Among other things, he introduced a heart group at TSV.

In 2009 he was co-founder and 2nd chairman of the association “Friends of the Prehistoric Museum in Taufkirchen (Vils)”.

He started collecting when he was studying biology 55 years ago.

From this a passion developed for him and his son, which culminated in the Prehistoric Museum.

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In 2010, together with the 50plus working group, he and the municipality started a questionnaire campaign for all 3,500 citizens aged 50 and over at the time.

With the conclusion that the viable social network should be further expanded.

The youngest baby of the still busy Kapustin is the pilot project FAMILIENSPORTinclusiv (families with children with and without disabilities), funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labor and Social Affairs, which he started this year in Taufkirchen as a Bavaria-wide example with two inclusive adventure hikes and with the support of network partners .

He was allowed to sign the golden book of his home community a long time ago.

The grandfather of six grandsons only regrets one thing: after knee surgery, he can only do sports to a limited extent.