Gerd Bonk (26 August 1951 – 20 October 2014) was a weightlifter active for East Germany from 1969 to 1980 who during his career won a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics, set two world records and achieved numerous other top-three ranks at World Championships and European Weightlifting Championships.

[1] Bonk began his career at BSG Motor Nema Netzschkau as a track and field athlete and set the East German youth record for the shot put in 1967[1] with 17.82 m. To build up the necessary strength for shot putting, he regularly lifted weights.

During the Baltic-Cup, in Lübeck in the same year, he had his international debut, where he made three failed pressing attempts.

Being a top lifter, he was never able to beat Vasiliy Alekseyev from the Soviet Union or Rudolf Mang from Germany up to 1980.

[5] In 2002 he was awarded the Georg von Opel Prize for Silent Winners in the category "Special Warriors".