Athletes from East Germany (

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

) competed at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. 226 competitors, 186 men and 40 women, took part in 124 events in 18 sports. It was the first time that

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

(Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany had sent separate teams to the Summer Olympic Games.

Medalists

Gold

* Christoph Höhne — Athletics, Men's 50 km Walk * Margitta Gummel — Athletics, Women's Shot Put *

Manfred Wolke Manfred Wolke (born 14 January 1943 in Babelsberg, Brandenburg) is a German former welterweight boxer. He was a member of the ''Armeesportsklub Vorwärts Frankfurt an der Oder''. Wolke, representing East Germany, was the Welterweight ...

— Boxing, Men's Welterweight * Heinz-Jürgen Bothe and

Jörg Lucke Jörg Lucke (born 7 January 1942) is a retired East German rower. He won a bronze medal in the eights at the 1966 World Championships and an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs in 1968. After that he competed in the coxed pair A coxed p ...

— Rowing, Men's Coxless Pairs *

Dieter Schubert Dieter Schubert (born 11 August 1943) is a German rower who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in Pirna Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of th ...

Frank Forberger Frank Forberger (5 March 1943 – 30 September 1998) was a German rower who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born and died in Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ...

Dieter Grahn Dieter Grahn (born 20 March 1944) is a German rower who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in Zobten, Silesia, Germany (today in Poland). In 1968 he was a crew member of the East ...

, and Frank Rühle — Rowing, Men's Coxless Fours *

Roland Matthes Roland Matthes (, ; 17 November 1950 – 20 December 2019) was a German swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all time. Between April 1967 and August 1974 he won all backstroke competitions he entered. He won four European champ ...

— Swimming, Men's 100m Backstroke *

— Swimming, Men's 200m Backstroke * Rudolf Vesper — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Welterweight *

Lothar Metz Lothar Metz (Germany, 16 January 1939 – Germany, 23 January 2021) was a German wrestler. Career He won an Olympic silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestlin ...

— Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Middleweight

Silver

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-G0817-0003-001, Helga Lindner

Klaus Beer Klaus Beer (14 November 1942 – 8 June 2023) was a track and field athlete active in the 1960s for East Germany. Beer is best known for having won the silver medal in the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics, well behind Bob Beamon's record s ...

— Athletics, Men's Long Jump * Lothar Milde — Athletics, Men's Discus Throw * Marita Lange — Athletics, Women's Shot Put * Erika Zuchold — Gymnastics, Women's Side Horse Vault *

Karin Janz Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise * Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' * Karin Kurosaki, a character in '' ...

— Gymnastics, Women's Asymmetrical Bars * Peter Kremtz, Dieter Semetzky, Manfred Gelpke, Roland Göhler and Klaus Jacob — Rowing, Men's Coxed Fours *

Frank Wiegand Frank Wiegand (born 15 March 1943) is a German former swimmer, Olympic medalist and world record holder. He participated in the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics, winning a total of four silver medals. He won eight medals at two European ch ...

, Horst-Günter Gregor, Eugen Henninger, and

— Swimming, Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay * Helga Lindner — Swimming, Women's 200m Butterfly * Gabriele Wetzko, Gabriele Perthes, Roswitha Krause, and

Uta Schmuck Uta Schmuck (later Uta Hoffmann, born 19 August 1949) is a retired German swimmer. Born in Limbach-Oberfrohna, Soviet Occupied Zone, she competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics. She qualified for the women's 100 metre freestyle, ...

— Swimming, Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay

Bronze

* Wolfgang Nordwig — Athletics, Men's Pole Vault *

Siegfried Fülle Siegfried Fülle (born 6 October 1939) is a German former Gymnastics, gymnast. He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics, 1960, 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events and won two bronze medals with t ...

Klaus Köste Klaus Köste (27 February 1943 – 14 December 2012) was a German gymnast. He won a gold medal in the vault at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He competed for East Germany and won bronze medals in the team all-around event in three Olympics, ...

, Peter Weber,

Günter Beier Günter Beier (born 2 March 1942) is a German former gymnast. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la X ...

, Matthias Brehme, and

Gerhard Dietrich Gerhard Dietrich (born 12 May 1942) is a German former gymnast. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de l ...

— Gymnastics, Men's Team Combined Exercises *

Magdalena Schmidt Magdalena Schmidt (later Magdalena Jakob, born 30 June 1949) is a retired German gymnast. She competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX O ...

, Ute Starke, Erika Zuchold, Maritta Bauerschmidt,

, and Marianne Noack — Gymnastics, Women's Team Combined Exercises * Harald Vollmar — Shooting, Men's Free Pistol * Kurt Czekalla — Shooting, Men's Trap Shooting * Sabine Steinbach — Swimming, Women's 400m Individual Medley * Paul Borowski, Karl-Heinz Thun, and Konrad Weichert — Sailing, Men's Dragon

Athletics

Boxing

Canoeing

Cycling

Ten cyclists represented East Germany in 1968. ; Team time trial * Klaus Ampler * Günter Hoffmann * Dieter Grabe * Axel Peschel ; 1000m time trial * Heinz Richter ;

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

* Werner Otto *

Jürgen Geschke Hans-Jürgen Geschke (also known as Tutti, born 7 July 1943) is a German former track cyclist who competed for East Germany in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics. After having won the silver medal in the 2000 m tandem, alongside Werner Otto, he ...

;

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

* Heinz Richter * Wolfgang Schmelzer * Rudolf Franz * Manfred Ulbricht

Diving

Equestrian

Fencing

Four fencers, all men, represented East Germany in 1968. ; Men's épée * Hans-Peter Schulze * Klaus Dumke * Harry Fiedler ; Men's team épée * Bernd Uhlig, Klaus Dumke, Harry Fiedler, Hans-Peter Schulze

Field hockey

Fourteen male

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

players competed in 1968, when the East German team finished in 11th place. * Rainer Stephan * Axel Thieme * Eckhard Wallossek * Klaus Bahner * Horst Brennecke * Dieter Klauß * Lothar Lippert * Dieter Ehrlich * Karlheinz Freiberger * Reinhart Sasse * Hans-Dietrich Sasse * Rolf Thieme * Klaus Träumer * Helmut Rabis

Gymnastics

Modern pentathlon

Three male pentathlete represented East Germany in 1968. ;Individual * Karl-Heinz Kutschke * Jörg Tscherner * Wolfgang Lüderitz ;Team * Karl-Heinz Kutschke * Jörg Tscherner * Wolfgang Lüderitz

Rowing

East Germany had 26 male rowers participate in all seven

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

events in 1968. ; Men's single sculls *

Achim Hill Achim Hill (1 April 1935 – 4 August 2015) was a German rower who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics and in the 1964 Summer Olympics and for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was born in Köpenick. ...

; Men's double sculls *

Uli Schmied Hans-Ulrich Schmied (born 23 February 1947) is a retired German rower who specialized in the double sculls. In this event he won bronze medals at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games and finished in fifth place in 1968. He also won one world (1974) a ...

* Manfred Haake ; Men's coxless pair – 1st place ( gold medal) *

* Heinz-Jürgen Bothe ; Men's coxed pair * Helmut Wollmann *

Wolfgang Gunkel Wolfgang Gunkel (15 January 1948 – 20 May 2020) was an East German rower who mostly competed in coxed pairs together with Jörg Lucke. In this event he won the European title in 1971, the Olympic gold medal in 1972, and the world title i ...

Klaus-Dieter Neubert Klaus-Dieter Neubert (born 22 November 1949) is a retired East German rowing coxswain, who had his best achievements in the coxed pair A coxed pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons wh ...

; Men's coxless four – 1st place ( gold medal) *

* Frank Rühle *

; Men's coxed four – 2nd place ( silver medal) * Peter Kremtz * Roland Göhler * Manfred Gelpke * Klaus Jacob * Dieter Semetzky ; Men's eight *

Günter Bergau Günter Bergau (born 11 April 1939) is a retired German rower. He competed for the United Team of Germany at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the coxed pairs and for East Germany at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos ...

Klaus-Dieter Bähr Klaus-Dieter Bähr (born 9 September 1941) is a German rower who represented East Germany. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the ...

* Claus Wilke *

Peter Gorny Peter Gorny (born 20 April 1941) is a retired German rower. He competed for the United Team of Germany at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the coxed pairs and for East Germany at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Ol ...

* Reinhard Zerfowski * Peter Hein * Manfred Schneider * Peter Prompe *

Karl-Heinz Danielowski Karl-Heinz Danielowski (born 31 March 1940) is a retired German coxswain. He competed for the United Team of Germany at the 1964 Summer Olympics and for East Germany at the 1968 and 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 � ...

Sailing

Shooting

Nine shooters, all men, represented East Germany in 1968. Harald Vollmar won bronze in the 50 m pistol and Kurt Czekalla won bronze in the trap. ;

25 m pistol 25 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often known as sport pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It was devised as a women's event in the 1960s, based upon the rules of 25 meter center-fire pistol but shot with a .22-caliber sp ...

Christian Düring Christian Düring (born 22 July 1939) is a German former sports shooter. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known ...

* Gerhard Dommrich ;

50 m pistol The 50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called Free Pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It provides the purest precision shooting among the pistol events, and is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to t ...

* Harald Vollmar * Helmut Artelt ; 300 m rifle, three positions * Hartmut Sommer * Uto Wunderlich ; 50 m rifle, three positions * Uto Wunderlich * Hartmut Sommer ; 50 m rifle, prone * Hartmut Sommer * Werner Heyn ;

Trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

* Kurt Czekalla * Rudolf Hager

Swimming

Volleyball

;Men's team competition * Round robin ** Lost to Czechoslovakia (2-3) ** Lost to Japan (0-3) ** Defeated Mexico (3-0) ** Defeated Belgium (3-0) ** Lost to Soviet Union (2-3) ** Defeated United States (3-0) ** Defeated Brazil (3-1) ** Defeated Bulgaria (3-2) ** Defeated Poland (3-0) → Fourth place * Team roster ** Horst Peter ** Eckhardt Tielscher ** Siegfried Schneider ** Manfred Heine **

Rainer Tscharke Rainer Tscharke (born 1 August 1942) is a German former volleyball player who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter ('' Stadtteil' ...

** Eckehard Pietzsch ** Arnold Schulz **

Rudi Schumann Rudi Schumann (born 15 February 1947) is a German former volleyball player who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympia ...

** Jürgen Kessel ** Walter Toissant ** Jürgen Freiwald **

Wolfgang Webner Wolfgang Webner (23 April 1937 – 2020) was a German volleyball player who competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad ...

Water polo

;Men's Team Competition * Preliminary Round (Group B) ** Defeated Mexico (12:4) ** Tied with Yugoslavia (4:4) ** Lost to Italy (4:5) ** Defeated Greece (11:4) ** Defeated Japan (8:0) ** Defeated United Arab Republic (19:2) ** Defeated Netherlands (8:3) * Classification Matches ** 5th/8th place: Defeated Cuba (8:2) ** 5th/6th place: Lost to United States (4:6) → Sixth place * Team Roster ** Hans-Georg Fehn ** Hans-Ulrich Lange ** Hans-Jürgen Schüler ** Manfred Herzog ** Peter Rund ** Veit Herrmanns ** Jürgen Kluge ** Jürgen Thiel ** Klaus Schlenkrich ** Peter Schmidt ** Siegfried Ballerstedt

Weightlifting

Wrestling

References

External links

Official Olympic Reports

International Olympic Committee results database
{{Nations at the 1968 Summer Olympics Germany, East

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

Summer Olympics