Rosemarie Springer (also Rosemarie Alsen, née Lorenz; July 5, 1920 – April 2, 2019) was a German

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

, and the third wife (1953–1961) Axel Springer, who was founder of what was in 2021 the largest media publishing firm in Europe.

Early life

Born in Danzig, she was the daughter of Werner Lorenz, who would later become an SS member and head of the

Hauptamt Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle The ''Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle'' or VoMi (Coordination Center for Ethnic Germans) was a Nazi Party agency in Nazi Germany founded to manage the interests of the ''Volksdeutsche'', the population of ethnic Germans living outside the country. U ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Equestrian career

She first rode a horse at the age of two, sitting on her father's lap, and took up equestrianism at a young age. Her career was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, however, and she served as a nurse during the conflict. She did not resume riding until 1950 but, soon after, her talents were spotted at a Berlin horse show. Among other international appearances, she participated in the individual dressage event at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, where she finished seventh in a field of seventeen competitors. She retired from active competition in the late 1970s, having been the German national champion in women's dressage seven times. Following her competitive career, Springer took up judging and training, the latter of which occupied her time until at least 2012. In her late 80s she continued to ski twice a year and occasionally ride in informal tournaments in Germany.

Marriages

She married cement manufacturer Horst-Herbert Alsen in 1941 and divorced him in 1953 to marry Alsen's friend, journalist Axel Springer. This union lasted until 1961 when Springer left her to marry Helga Ludewig. On her 75th birthday, Springer was honored by the German Equestrian Federation (FN) for her contributions to the sport. She died on April 2, 2019, at the age of 98.

References

1920 births 2019 deaths German female equestrians German nurses Olympic equestrians of the United Team of Germany Equestrians at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Gdańsk People from West Prussia Rosemarie 20th-century German women {{Germany-equestrian-bio-stub