German discus thrower Michael Möllenbeck, a double World Championships bronze medallist, has died at the age of 52 ©Getty Images

Germany's two-time World Championships discus medallist Michael Möllenbeck has died after a long illness at the age of 52.

He won bronze medals at the 2001 and 2005 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton and Helsinki, respectively.

Möllenbeck also won a bronze medal at the 2002 European Championships in Munich.

He represented Germany at three consecutive Olympic Games at Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.

The best result was a 10th-place finish in Australia.

Möllenbeck’s international career stretched to the 1987 European Under-20 Championships where he finished sixth in the colours of West Germany.

He surpassed the 60 metre-barrier at least once for 18 consecutive years between 1990 and 2009 and achieved his lifetime best of 67.64m in 2002.

Michael Möllenbeck enjoyed a long international career and represented Germany at three consecutive Olympic Games ©Getty Images
Michael Möllenbeck enjoyed a long international career and represented Germany at three consecutive Olympic Games ©Getty Images

Möllenbeck also surpassed the 65m barrier in 13 successive seasons between 1995 and 2007.

He retired in 2009 after just missing a place on the German team for the World Championships in Berlin.

Möllenbeck had married team-mate Anja Gündler, a double European Junior champion in shot put and discus, in 1996.

His death was announced on Monday (November 7) by TV Wattenscheid 01, the club he had represented most of his career.

"Michael Möllenbeck was not only an excellent discus thrower; he has also become a good friend to me over the years," said his long-time coach Miroslav Jasinski.

"I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to his family."