Jana Sorgers (married name Jana Sorgers-Rau, born 4 August 1967) is a German rower who was a dominant

sculler Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, i ...

of her time, starting her career for the East German rowing team and continuing after the German reunification for the combined Germany for a few more years. Between 1986 and 1996, she won two Olympic gold medals, seven world championship titles, and nine national titles. Upon the conclusion of her successful career, she was awarded the

Thomas Keller Medal The Thomas Keller Medal is given by the World Rowing Federation (FISA) for an outstanding international career in the sport of rowing. It is the highest honor in rowing and is awarded to any athlete within five years of his/her retirement from the ...

by the

International Rowing Federation World Rowing, also known as the World Rowing Federation (former abbreviation FISA; french: Fédération internationale des sociétés d'aviron), is the international governing body for rowing. Its current president is Jean-Christophe Rolland who ...

(FISA) – the highest honour in rowing.

Rowing career

Representing East Germany

Sorgers was born in 1967 in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

, which at the time belonged to East Germany. She went to school in Pragsdorf where she was chosen for the rowing programme. From early on in her rowing career, Sorgers was a

. Her first club was Dynamo Neubrandenburg-Mitte and in 1981, she transferred to

SC Dynamo Berlin The Sports Club Dynamo Berlin was an East German sports club that existed from 1954 to 1991. It was the largest sports club of SV Dynamo, the sports association of the security agencies. The club was disbanded after German reunification and even ...

. In 1982, she won the national junior championships in quad scull. Her first notable success came at the 1983

Spartakiad The Spartakiad (or Spartakiade) was an international sports event that was sponsored by the Soviet Union. Five international Spartakiades were held from 1928 to 1937. Later Spartakiads were organized as national sport events of the Eastern Bloc ...

where she won gold in the

double scull A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

event partnered with

Sybille Schmidt Sybille Schmidt (born 31 August 1967 in Apolda) is a German rower who competed for the SC Dynamo Berlin / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. She won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 3 Gold Medals in the World Championships, beginning ...

. At the 1984

World Rowing Junior Championships The World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31 December of the year in which he reaches the age of ...

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

, Sweden, she became junior world champion in the coxed quad scull alongside

Judith Zeidler Judith Ungemach ( Zeidler, born 11 May 1968) is a German-Australian world champion rower and Olympic gold and bronze medalist. Early life and education Zeidler was born in Beeskow, Brandenburg. She started rowing at the age of thirteen at the E ...

. At the 1985 World Rowing Junior Championships in

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

, East Germany, she became junior world champion in the double scull partnered with Claudia Krüger with whom she had rowed since the beginning of the year; they dominated the final from the start and were more than 12 seconds ahead of the silver medallists. Having won her second junior world championship title, Sorgers proclaimed that her biggest wish was to make it into the senior national team. At the beginning of the next season, she was chosen by chief women's coach

Jürgen Gröbler Jürgen Heinz Lothar Gröbler OBE (born 31 July 1946, Magdeburg) is a German rowing coach, formerly the Olympic team coach of East Germany and later of Great Britain. He coached crews to medals at every Olympics from 1972 to 2016, with the except ...

for the team. Having just turned 19—the second-youngest on the East German team with

Andreas Hajek Andreas Hajek (born 16 April 1968 in Weißenfels) is a retired German rower. At the 1986 World Rowing Championships, he replaced a sick Thomas Lange Thomas Lange (born 27 February 1964) is a German rower who won two gold and one bronze O ...

a few months younger—she won her first senior world championship title at the

1986 World Rowing Championships The 1986 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 17 to 24 August 1986 at Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Medal summary Looking at the open weight classes only, East Germany was the most successful nation ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in the United Kingdom in the quad scull alongside Kerstin Pieloth, Birgit Peter and Kerstin Hinze. In October 1986, she was awarded a

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in gold (first class) for her sporting success. The team repeated this success at the

1987 World Rowing Championships The 1987 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 to 30 August 1987 in Copenhagen, Denmark while it was "outrageously windy". Medal summary Medalists at the 1987 World Rowing Championships were: Men's ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, with Jutta Hampe having replaced Hinze and despite Hampe having caught a crab early in the final. In January 1988, Sorgers was awarded the sports title "Honored Master of Sports". At the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, Korea, the women from East Germany dominated the rowing competition by winning five of the six events. Sorgers won gold with the quad scull, alongside Kerstin Förster (née Pieloth), Kristina Mundt and

Beate Schramm Beate Schramm (born 21 June 1966) is a German rower and Olympic gold medallist. Between 1986 and 1991, she won four senior world championship titles, after having previously twice been junior world champion. She won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympic ...

. Of the team of 23 female rowers, only two rowers did not win a medal – the coxless pair came fourth. In November 1988, Sorgers was awarded a Patriotic Order of Merit in gold (first class); this was the second time that she received this award. For the 1989 rowing season, Sorgers teamed up with Schramm in a double scull. Early in the rowing season, they successfully competed against a team made of

Jutta Behrendt Jutta Behrendt ( Hampe; 15 November 1960 in Berlin) is a German competition rower, world champion and Olympic champion. Hampe competed for the SC Dynamo Berlin / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo and received a gold medal in single sculls at the 1 ...

(née Hampe) and Sybille Schmidt (Sorger's 1983 double scull partner). Sorgers and Schramm won the

1989 World Rowing Championships The 1989 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 2 to 10 September 1989 at Lake Bled near Bled in SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југослав ...

Bled Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper C ...

, Yugoslavia. For the 1990 rowing season, Sorgers was back in a quad with Schmidt,

Kerstin Köppen Kerstin Köppen (later Köppen-Kosbab now Holtmeyer, born 24 November 1967 in Rathenow, Bezirk Potsdam) is a former German rower and Olympic champion. She is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, winning in 1992 and 1996. In addition, she has also w ...

and Krüger. This crew went to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in Australia for the

1990 World Rowing Championships Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

where they became world champions. This was the last appearance of the East German national rowing team as the German reunification had happened a month earlier; the two German rowing federations were about to merge, too.

Representing Reunified Germany

The 1991 rowing season started with a national regatta for the small boat classes in Wedau where Sorgers competed in

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to mini ...

and was beaten into second place by Schramm. A month later, an international regatta was held at the same venue where Sorgers teamed up with Sybille Schmidt in the double scull; they won their boat class by a margin of almost 8 seconds. The intention of the rowing officials had always been for Sorgers and Schmidt to be part of a quad scull for 1991 and after further qualification races, the 1990 team was reassembled, with

Jana Thieme Jana Thieme (born 6 July 1970) is a German rower and Olympic champion. Thieme travelled to Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympics as a substitute but did not compete. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal in double scul ...

nearly having replaced Krüger. At the

1991 World Rowing Championships The 1991 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 19 to 25 August 1991 in Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Posta ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, the quad scullers defended their world championship title. In the 1992 season, Sorgers had a performance low. She did attend a three-week Olympic training camp in Mexico but then did not make the 1992 national team selection. She thus missed out qualification for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. In 1993, Sorgers changed club and moved to

SG Dynamo Potsdam SG, Sg or sg may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * "SG" (song), a 2021 song by DJ Snake, Ozuna, Lisa, and Megan Thee Stallion * Gibson SG, an electric guitar manufactured by Gibson Guitar Corporation * SG Wannabe, a South Korean music gr ...

but did not make it back into the national team. In December 1993, Sorgers was one of forty-five athletes to be awarded the

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

("Silver Laurel Leaf"), the highest sports award in Germany. Sorgers made a comeback in the 1994 season. She made it back into the national team and with the quad scull, she won her sixth world championship title at the

1994 World Rowing Championships The 1994 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 11 to 18 September 1994 at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of ...

in Indianapolis, United States. The other team members that year were Mundt, Katrin Rutschow, and Kerstin Köppen-Kosbab. At the

1995 World Rowing Championships File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland, the quad scull defended its championship title, with Thieme having replaced Mundt. Sorgers retired after winning a final gold medal in

quad scull A quadruple sculling boat, often simply called a quad and abbreviated 4x, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four people who propel the boat by sculling with two oars, or "sculls", one in each hand. R ...

with Rutschow, Köppen, and

Kathrin Boron Kathrin Boron (born 4 November 1969 in Eisenhüttenstadt, East Germany) is a German sculler, and four-time Olympic gold medallist. She's an athlete of the SV Dynamo / SG Dynamo Potsdam. Boron won the women's double sculls at the 1992 Summer Oly ...

at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. After her retirement, she was awarded the

National championships

In the GDR, Sorgers won her first national title in 1986 in the quad scull. In 1988, she became national champion in both the double and the quad scull. In 1989, she retained her title in the double scull. In 1990, she won her final East German title with the quad scull. After the reunification, Sorgers won four national titles in quad scull: in 1991, 1994, 1995, and 1996.

Life outside rowing

Sorgers trained as a medical technical assistant from 1984. In 1991, she trained to become a beautician. She married rower Oliver Rau some time after her retirement from competitive rowing and has since been known as Jana Sorgers-Rau. The couple have twin daughters (born 2000) and for many years, they lived in Bremen. Oliver Rau worked for sports club SV Werder Bremen from 1996 until 2017. He now works for and they live in Bremen.

References

External links

Photos of Sorgers at the 1988 and 1996 Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorgers, Jana 1967 births Living people People from Neubrandenburg East German female rowers German female rowers Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany World Rowing Championships medalists for East Germany World Rowing Championships medalists for Germany SC Dynamo Berlin athletes Thomas Keller Medal recipients Olympic rowers for East Germany Olympic rowers for Germany Rowers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf Sportspeople from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania People from Bezirk Neubrandenburg