Martha Wertheimer: A woman of great courage
35,000 spectators flocked to the first international match at Riederwald in 1922 between Germany and Switzerland, which to this day remains a historic moment. Among those in attendance was Martha Wertheimer, a passionate fencer at Eintracht Frankfurt and an editor for the Offenbacher Zeitung. On top of that, she also edited Eintracht’s monthly club newsletter. Before her presumed death at the Sobibor extermination camp in 1942, she was in charge of youth welfare for the Jewish community in Frankfurt and rescued numerous children by enabling them to flee, something she herself did not manage to do.
Ilse Bechthold: Passionate visionary
Ilse Bechthold became a club member in 1948 at the age of 21 and enjoyed her greatest successes as an athlete after that. She won the Hessian championships in shot put and discus 26 times as well as being South German champion five times. When Eintracht Frankfurt set up a volleyball and basketball division, Bechthold joined both teams. She passed away on 17 May 2021 at the age of 93.
Birgit Friedmann: Forerunner over long distance
When Birgit Friedmann crossed the finish line after 8 minutes, 48 seconds and one millisecond in Sittard, Holland, in 1980, she probably didn’t realise how special that run was. Not only did she set a personal best and a German record over 3,000 metres, she also received the ‘Silver Laurel Leaf’ for it. It also proved to be the greatest title of her career.
Beate Deininger: Hockey star still active
As an Eintracht fan through and through, Beate Deininger has a bunch of nursery children in tow once a year and gets to present numerous exhibits to the youngsters in the Eintracht Museum. The 60-year-old nursery boss also has a lot to tell about her own career as a sportswoman wearing the eagle on her chest. For almost 20 years, the Frankfurt native was the midfield playmaker of the field hockey team and won the German championship with Eintracht in 1991. Today she is a coach in the youth department at Eintracht.
Betty Heidler: Records and medals
World champion, European champion, Olympic silver medallist in London, five-time Hesse Sportswoman of the Year, 2011 German Female Athlete of the Year – the list of titles that hammer thrower Betty Heidler has collected during her career is long. Born in East Berlin, she moved to a residential sports school in Frankfurt in 2001. Just four years later, she became German champion for the first time at the age of 22, a title she defended every year until 2012. In 2007, she was crowned world champion in Osaka.
Five stories, five strong women who achieved a lot at the club through bravery, confidence and talent. They represent the many chapters that have already been written, and the many more that are still to come. Two years ago, the club started a new chapter with the merger with 1. FFC Frankfurt, which saw Eintracht represented in the Women’s Bundesliga for the first time. A sign that the story of women at the club is far from over.
