Frank Forberger

Dieter Grahn and Frank Forberger (right) become GDR champions in two-man without a helmsman in 1969

Frank Forberger (born March 5, 1943 in Meißen ; † September 30, 1998 ibid) was a rower from the GDR.

Even as a teenager, Frank Forberger sat in the rowing boat, for the time being as a helmsman . Later he rowed himself, first with the BSG unit Meißen, in 1965 he switched to the SC unit Dresden . The four without a helmsman from Einheit Dresden became a legend over the next few years. From 1966 to 1972 Frank Forberger, Frank Rühle , Dieter Grahn and Dieter Schubert won every major competition. The four rowers became world champions in 1966, European champions in 1967 and Olympic champions in 1968 .

In 1969 Frank Rühle fell ill. Forberger and Grahn started in the European championship in two without and finished second. With the restored Frank Rühle, they won the 1970 World Cup, 1971 the European Championship and 1972 the Olympic Games in Munich.

Frank Forberger died on September 30, 1998 of a brain tumor. In 1999 his daughter Anna became Junior World Champion in rowing.

honors and awards

• In 1968 the four without a helmsman from Einheit Dresden was voted Team of the Year in the GDR.
• In 1980, the 1960 Olympic rowing champion and sports journalist Moritz von Groddeck named Frank Forberger fourth on his list of the 10 best rowers of all time.
• 1968: Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
• 1971: Star of Friendship between Nations in silver
• 1972: Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold

literature

• Volker Kluge : The great lexicon of GDR athletes. The 1000 most successful and popular athletes from the GDR, their successes and biographies. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89602-348-9 .
• David Wallechinsky, Irving & Amy Wallace: Rowohlts Bunte Liste , 1980 Reinbek ISBN 3-498-07289-7 (Moritz von Groddeck presents his list on page 356/357: 10 best rowers of all time )

Web links

Commons : Frank Forberger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Frank Forberger in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )