Siegfried Brietzke (born 12 June 1952) is 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 di ...

. He competed for

East Germany 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 ...

, first in

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right h ...

s, together with

Wolfgang Mager Wolfgang Mager (born 24 August 1952) is a retired Germany, German rowing (sport), rower. He competed for East Germany, first in coxless pairs, together with Siegfried Brietzke, and then in coxless fours. In these events he won Olympic gold meda ...

, and then in

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

s. In these events he won Olympic gold medals in 1972, 1976 and 1980, as well as four world championships in 1974–1979.

Rowing career

Siegfried Brietzke and Wolfgang Mager 1976 stamp of Nicaragua

Brietzke responded to a television programme screened at Christmas 1967 where tall boys were sought as rowers, and he joined

SC DHfK Leipzig SC DHfK Leipzig e. V. ''(Sportclub Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur Leipzig e. V.)'' is a sports club in Leipzig, Germany. Until the closure of the sports university DHfK, the club was part of the DHfK. Established was the club in 1954 as ...

in response. After training for just three years, he won a gold medal with

and cox Werner Lehmann at the 1970

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 1 ...

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

in the coxed pair. At the 1971 East German national championships, he came second in the coxless four. At the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, Brietzke and his partner Mager won the gold medal in the coxless pair event. Mager and Brietzke won the East German national championship in the coxless pair in 1973, but a few weeks later at the

1973 European Rowing Championships The 1973 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held at the regatta course on the Krylatskoye Rowing Canal in Moscow, Soviet Union. The competition was the first use of the venue. There were seven competitions for men and five for ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

they came fourth only in this boat class. At the 1974 East German national championships, Brietzke, Mager,

Stefan Semmler Stefan Semmler (born 5 May 1952) is a retired East German rower. Competing in coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, withou ...

, and

Andreas Decker Andreas Decker (born 19 August 1952) is a German rower who competed for East Germany in the 1976 Summer Olympics and in the 1980 Summer Olympics. He was born in Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-larg ...

became champions in two boat classes: in the coxless four, and in the coxed four assisted by coxswain Matthias Sommer. They went to the

1974 World Rowing Championships The 1974 World Rowing Championships was the fourth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 4 to 8 September 1974 (for men) and from 29 August to 1 September 1974 (for women) on the Rotsee in Lucerne, Switzerland. The event was significantly ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

as a coxless four and won gold. Brietzke, Mager, Semmler, and Decker won the national coxless four event every year until 1979. The four won the

1975 World Rowing Championships The 1975 World Rowing Championships was the fifth World Rowing Championships. It was held from 21 to 30 August at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. Medal summary Medalists at the 1975 World Rowing Champions ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, the

1977 World Rowing Championships The 1977 World Rowing Championships was the 6th World Rowing Championships. The championships were held from 19 to 28 August 1977 on the Bosbaan rowing lake in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Medal summary About 556 rowers from 28 countries competed ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, but were beaten to second place by the team from the Soviet Union at the

1978 World Rowing Championships Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Cambridge, New Zealand Cambridge (Māori: ''Kemureti'') is a town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. Situated southeast of Hamilton, on the banks of the Waikato River, Cambridge is known as "The Town of Trees & Champions" ...

. They won gold again at the

1979 World Rowing Championships The 1979 World Rowing Championships were World Rowing Championships that were held from 30 August – 9 September 1979 at Bled in Slovenia, Yugoslavia. Medal summary Men's events Women's events Medal table This table does not include th ...

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 ...

, and won a further Olympic gold in 1980 in

, but with

Jürgen Thiele Jürgen Thiele (born 8 August 1959) is a German rower who competed for East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its ...

having replaced Wolfgang Mager. After the Moscow Olympics, Brietzke was the only sports person that year to be awarded the

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 with honour clasp, the highest sports award of the GDR.

Post-rowing life

Brietzke is married and has a son, born in 1974. In 2013, it was revealed that Brietzke was a member of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

, the state security service of the German Democratic Republic. Under the codename "Charlie", his role was to control other athletes and report those with "deviant thinking".

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brietzke, Siegfried 1952 births Living people Rowers from Rostock East German male rowers Olympic rowers of East Germany Rowers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic medalists in rowing World Rowing Championships medalists for East Germany Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics People of the Stasi Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp)