Bernhard Knubel (rower)

Bernhard Knubel ( born March 2, 1938 in Brotdorf, † February 23, 1973 in Gelsenkirchen) was a rower from the Federal Republic of Germany, the 1960 Olympic champion in pairs with coxswain.

Life

Bernhard Knubel was born in Saarland, he grew up in Peter Hagen and went to school in Minden. Having initially played handball, he was discovered in 1953 for the rowing and started for the Minden rowing club. 1955, the all-round athlete was also county - country run champion. For family reasons Knubel moved a little later to Gelsenkirchen and launched from now on for the Gelsenkirchen club rowing. There he met the multiple German champion Heinz Renneberg, which in 1959 third in the German Championship in two coxless was common. In pairs with coxswain he won in the All-German Olympic qualification together with Renneberg and helmsman Klaus Zerta.

At the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 the races were held on the Lake Albano. The German boat won the lead in 7:31,64 minutes. In the finals, the boat won in 7:29,14 with a brief second ahead of the boat from the Soviet Union.

At a height of 1.97 m was Knubels competition weight 90 kg. At the age of 34, he died of cancer in Gelsenkirchen. In Peter Hagen is a street named after him. Minden referred to him as the only gold medalist in the city.