Rolf Sperling (diver)

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Rolf Sperling at the GDR Open Air Championships in 1968

Rolf Sperling (born April 25, 1940 in Halle an der Saale ) is a former German diver .

Career

Sperling began his career in Halle an der Saale in the mid-1950s and dominated high diving in the GDR for over a decade .

From 1958 to 1965, Sperling was the GDR series champion in diving from the 10 m tower for SC Chemie Halle . In 1967 he moved to the Berlin TSC and was again GDR champion in diving in the same year. He reached the high point of his career in 1968, when he won both the outdoor titles for tower and 3-meter board, as well as indoor championships for 1-meter and 3-meter boards. From the 3-meter board he was the only one to perform a one and a half forward somersault with a triple twist, which at the time was considered one of the most difficult jumps in the world with a difficulty of 2.9. In the same year, Sperling traveled to the Summer Olympics in Mexico City with high expectations, but only finished 20th there, the worst place in his three Olympic competitions. In 1960 he reached 5th place, in 1964 he only just qualified for the then all-German Olympic team, but was 7th from the tower in Tokyo .

Sperling's greatest international success remained 2nd at the European Championships in 1962.

In 2004, Sperling won the 10th FINA World Masters Championships in his age group and set several Masters world records.

Private life

1968 Summer Olympics, with Ingrid Gulbin and Max Kienast.

Sperling is a doctor and received his doctorate in Leipzig in 1969 with a thesis on the incidence of illnesses in kindergartens.

Sporting successes

Indoor championships 1968

Olympic games

  • 1960 Rome - 5th place, tower
  • 1964 Tokyo - 7th place, tower, 14th place, 3-meter board
  • 1968 Mexico City - 20th place, tower

European championships

  • 1962, 2nd place, tower

National championships

  • 1958–1965, GDR champion, tower
  • 1958 3rd place, 3-meter board
  • 1962 2nd place, 3-meter board
  • 1965 3rd place, 3-meter board
  • 1967–1968, GDR master craftsman, tower
  • 1967 indoor champion, 3-meter board
  • 1968 GDR champion, 3-meter board
  • 1968 indoor champion of the GDR, 1-meter board
  • 1970 2nd place indoor championships, tower
  • 1971 2nd place, tower

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Six zone jumpers and three from the Federal Republic ( Memento of July 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Hamburger Abendblatt, No. 200 of August 28, 1964, page 14
  2. ↑ X FINA World Masters Championships - Diving Results ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 64 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fina.org
  3. ↑ On the incidence of illness in kindergartens using examples from the city of Halle / Saale . Dissertation by Rolf Sperling at worldcat.org
personal data
SURNAME Sperling, Rolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German diver
DATE OF BIRTH April 25, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Halle on the Saale