Martin Sauer (born 17 December 1982) is a German former representative

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 ...

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...

. He was an eight-time world champion at the senior level and three-time underage world champion. He is a triple Olympian and a triple Olympic medallist. He held his seat as coxswain of the German senior men's eight — the Deutschlandachter — constantly from 2009 to 2021 and steered that crew to their six world championship titles and also when at the 2017

World Rowing Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each eve ...

II they set a world's best time of 5.18.68, which still the standing world mark as of 2021.Best times World Rowing
/ref> He coxed the German crew which 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 ...

. 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 steered Germany's men's eight to their silver medal win. He was selected in the German Olympic rowing squad for Tokyo 2021 and coxed the men's eight for his third Olympic appearance and his second Olympic silver medal.

Early career

Sauer was born in 1982 in

Wriezen Wriezen () is a town in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 11 km southeast of Bad Freienwalde. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Wriezen.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Curr ...

. His club rowing has been from the Berliner RuderClub in Berlin.

Representative rowing career

Sauer's international representative debut was at the junior level, when he won a gold medal in the German junior men's eight at the

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 ...

in 2010 in Zagreb.Sauer at World Rowing
/ref> He moved in to the German lightweight men's eight for the 2001 season and they finished in overall ninth place at the

2001 World Rowing Championships The 2001 World Rowing Championships were held from 19 to 26 August 2001 at Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. Medal summary Men Non-Olympic classes Women Non-Olympic classes Medal table References {{Authority control World Rowing C ...

. For the next tree years he represented at the U23 level. The Nations Cup in 2002 and 2003 were the then-equivalent of the U23 World Championships and Sauer was in the stern of German coxed fours which finished fifth in 2002 and took gold in 2003. At the first true

World Rowing U23 Championships World Rowing U23 Championships is an international rowing regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is l ...

in Poznan in 2004 Sauer steered the German men's U23 eight to a gold medal win. Sauer stepped into the German senior squad in 2005 and took a coxed four to Japan for the

2005 World Rowing Championships The 2005 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 29 August to 4 September 2005 at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Kaizu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. The international rowing season usually ends ...

where they placed third.The next year at the 2006 World Rowing Championships on Eton Dorney, they won gold and Sauer's first world championship title. At the

2007 World Rowing Championships The 2007 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 26 August to 2 September 2007 at Oberschleißheim Regatta Course near Munich, Germany. Medal summary Men's events Non-Olympic classes Women's events N ...

with Sauer at the helm the coxed four won a bronze medal and the in 2008 Sauer coxed the men's lightweight eight to a World Championship silver medal. The 2008 Beijing Olympics saw the retirement of Peter Thiede who had been at the helm of the German men's eight since re-unification and was the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

men's eight coxswain from 1987. Sauer steered the eight at the 2008 European Championships and then from 2009 made the stern seat his own in the new Olympiad's rebuilt Deutschlandachter. They won gold and Sauer's second World Championship title at the 2009 World Rowing Championships. In 2010 the eight was undefeated in finals during the international season and then at 2010 World Championships in New Zealand they defended their World Championship title. With Sauer on the rudder, the German crew won their third consecutive title at the 2011 World Championships after again winning all races they contested at three

Rowing World Cup The World Rowing Cup is an international rowing competition organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It began in 1997 and comprises three regattas (apart from in 2001 when there were four) held throughout early summer. In each ev ...

s. At the 2012 Olympics in London, the favoured German eight won the gold medal with a crew consisting of Filip Adamski, Andreas Kuffner,

Eric Johannesen Eric Johannesen (born 16 July 1988) is a German former representative rower. He is a dual Olympian, an Olympic gold medallist and was a 2011 world champion. He was in the crew that won the gold medal in the men's eight competition at the 2012 ...

, Maximilian Reinelt, Richard Schmidt, Lukas Müller, Florian Mennigen, Kristof Wilke and Sauer. Later that year each member of the crew 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 ...

(Silver Laurel Leaf), Germany's highest sports award, for the achievement. After his first Olympic success, Sauer remained constant in the German eight who since 2010 have been strong, permanent rivals against the British men's eight. From 2013 to 2015, the German team won gold each year at the European Rowing Championships but come the World Championship finals, the Great Britain pipped them each time by a margin of less than one second relegating the German eight to three consecutive silver medals. In the lead-up to

Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Germany again finished either first or second at each regatta in the international season. In Rio the German crew won their heat but in the final were again beaten by Great Britain with a 1.33 second margin. Sauer now had his second Olympic medal – a silver and later that year he received a second

(Silver Laurel Leaf), Germany's highest sports award. In 2017 Sauer, Malte Jakschik, Richard Schmidt, and stroke Hannes Ocik were the only members of the German Olympic eight who rowed on. The eight was rebuilt around this stern end brains-trust. Sauer drove them through their dominant season campaign, winning gold at the European Championships, two World Rowing Cups and ultimately at the

2017 World Rowing Championships The 2017 World Rowing Championships were the 47th edition of the World Rowing Championships that were held from 24 September to 1 October 2017 in Sarasota, Florida. Host selection During 2013, Plovdiv and Sarasota, Florida both applied to hos ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

where the German eight were once again crowned world champions. In June 2017 at the

II in Poznan they set a new world's best time for the eight, taking 0.67 seconds off a 2012 mark that had been set by Canada. The German crew with every man holding the same seat, continued their European and world dominance throughout 2018 winning at three World Rowing Cups, the 2018 European Championships and then defending their world title at the 2018 World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv. There were a handful of changes to the eight in 2019 but Sauer remained in the stern for another successful international season culminating in his sixth world championship title at the

2019 World Rowing Championships The 2019 World Rowing Championships were held in Ottensheim, Austria from 25 August to 1 September 2019. Apart from Ottensheim, the right to host the championships was contested by Hamburg in Germany, Račice in the Czech Republic, and Varese ...

Ottensheim Ottensheim is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. In July 2008 it hosted the World Rowing Championships, and it did so again in 2019. History First settlements in this area date from about 4 ...

. The German men's eight's 2019 performances qualified that boat for

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. By the time of the 2021 selections for those delayed Olympics, Sauer was still in the crew and made his third Olympic rowing appearance for another silver medal win.

Rowing palmares

* 2000: Eighth place

– M8+ * 2001: Silver medal

– M4+ * 2002: Fifth place

– M4+ * 2003: Gold medal

– M4+ * 2004: Gold medal

– M8+ * 2005: Bronze medal

World Rowing Championships The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). It is a week-long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of th ...

– M4+ * 2006: Gold medal

– M4+ * 2007: Bronze medal

– M4+ * 2008: Silver medal

– LM8+ * 2008: 4th place

European Rowing Championships The European Rowing Championships is an international Rowing regatta organised by FISA (the International Rowing Federation) for European rowing nations, plus Israel which, though not a member of the European federation is treated as a Europea ...

– M8+ * 2009: Gold medal

– M8+ * 2010: Gold medal European and

– M8+ * 2011: Gold medal

– M8+ * 2012: Gold medal London Olympics – M8+ * 2013: Gold medal

– M8+ * 2013: Silver medal

– M8+ * 2014: Gold medal

– M8+ * 2014: Silver medal

– M8+ * 2015: Gold medal

– M8+ * 2015: Silver medal

– M8+ * 2016: Silver medal

Rio de Janeiro Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

– M8+ * 2017: Gold medal European and

– M8+ * 2018: Gold medal European and

– M8+ * 2019: Gold medal European and

– M8+

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer, Martin 1982 births Living people People from Wriezen People from Bezirk Frankfurt German male rowers Coxswains (rowing) Sportspeople from Brandenburg Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers for Germany Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany World Rowing Championships medalists for Germany European Rowing Championships medalists Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf