Maximilian Reinelt (24 August 1988 – 9 February 2019) was a German

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

and physician. He won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, as well as two

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and four European Championships. In 2016, he was 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 ...

, Germany's highest sports award.

Career

Reneilt started rowing for Germany as a junior in 2006. He finished second in three U23 World Championship events. In 2010, he was promoted to the senior boat by coach . Reinelt was part of the team that won the gold medal in the men's eight competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It was Germany's first gold medal in the event since

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. He also won gold in the men's eight at the 2010 and 2011 World Championships and the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, 2015, and 2016 European Championships, and silver at the

, and 2015 World Championships. He was also part of a German team that won a record 36 consecutive races. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, he competed as part of Germany's men's eight team which won the silver medal. The eight rowers were awarded the

(Silver Laurel Leaf), Germany's highest sports award, for their achievement. It was Reinelt's second such award having been similarly recognised for his 2012 Olympic gold. After the 2016 Olympics, Reinelt retired to focus on studying

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

in Bochum. He was one of three rowers from the German 2016 Olympic team who retired after the Games, the others being Andreas Kuffner and

Maximilian Munski Maximilian Munski (born 10 January 1988) is a German former representative Rowing (sport), rower. He is an Olympian, an Olympic silver medallist and was selected in German senior crews at World Rowing Championships and Rowing World Cups between 20 ...

. In early 2019, Reinelt became doctor of the Germany U23 rowing squad. He had been scheduled to attend their rowing camp in

Mequinenza Mequinenza (Aragonese and ) or Mequinensa () is a town and municipality of the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is located beside the river Segre, close to its confluence with the river Ebro between the Mequi ...

, Spain.

Death

On 9 February 2019, Reinelt died whilst skiing in St. Moritz, Switzerland, with his fiancée. Resuscitation attempts failed, and his death was announced by Graubuenden police. Speaking about Reinelt's death,

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

president

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former Olympic foil fencer and Olympic gold medalist, serving as the ninth and current president of the International Olympic Committee since 10 September 2013. He is also a former memb ...

said "Maximilian Reinelt is one of the great athletes of German rowing and beyond that a very likeable person, who has managed to combine competitive sports and his vocational training as a doctor with great success." According to the autopsy, Reinelt was suffering from

Sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis (also known as ''Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease'') is a disease involving abnormal collections of inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph nodes. Less commonly a ...

, which remained asymptomatic. The Sarcoidosis was responsible for the Arrhythmia, that caused

sudden cardiac death Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

.Obduktionsergebnis liegt vor – daran starb der Ulmer Olympiasieger Maximilian Reinelt
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reinelt, Maximilian 1988 births 2019 deaths German male rowers Sportspeople from Ulm Rowers from Baden-Württemberg Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Rowing Championships medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics European Rowing Championships medalists