Ullrich Dießner (born 27 December 1954) is a retired German

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

who had his best achievements in the

coxed four A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

s. In this event he won a silver and a gold medal at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics, respectively, as well as five world titles in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1982. For his Olympic achievements Dießner was 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 1976 and 1980. His twin brother

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

rowed together with Ullrich in most competitions until 1981. The brothers have different birth dates because Walter was born before midnight and Ullrich shortly thereafter.

References

1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Meissen Rowers from Bezirk Dresden East German male rowers German twins Olympic rowers for East Germany Rowers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic silver 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 Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver {{Germany-rowing-Olympic-medalist-stub