Jorg Lucke
Jörg Lucke (born 1942 in Berlin) is a German rower who won two Olympic gold medals for East Germany, in the coxless pairs at the 1968 Mexico City Games and in the coxed pairs at the 1972 Munich Games.1 He competed for the club SC Berlin-Grünau, stood 193 cm tall and weighed 91 kg during his career.1
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942, Berlin; club SC Berlin-Grünau; NOC East Germany1 |
| Olympic golds | Coxless pairs, Mexico City 1968 (with Heinz-Jürgen Bothe); coxed pairs, Munich 1972 (with Wolfgang Gunkel and cox Klaus-Dieter Neubert)1 |
| 1972 final | Won in 7:17.25 on 2 September 1972, an Olympic record for the event2 |
| World Championships | Bronze in the eights (1966), silver in the coxed pairs (1974), gold in the coxed pairs (1975)1 |
| European Championships | Silver in the coxed fours (1969), gold in the coxed pairs (1971), silver in the coxed pairs (1973)1 |
| National titles | Ten East German national titles between 1961 and 19751 |
1968: Olympic champion in the coxless pair
Together with Heinz-Jürgen Bothe he qualified in the coxless pair for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. On the Olympic regatta course at Xochimilco the East German boat won by 0.15 seconds over the United States crew of Larry Hough and Tony Johnson, with Denmark taking bronze.3 Lucke and Bothe also won the East German national title in the coxless pair in 1963, 1965 and 1968.1
1972: a second gold in the coxed pair
Lucke then moved into the coxed pair with Wolfgang Gunkel and coxswain Klaus-Dieter Neubert. At the Munich Games the East German boat was one of the two leading contenders alongside the Czechoslovak crew of Vladimír Petříček and the Svojanovský brothers, who had each won a European title since the previous Olympics. In the final on 2 September 1972 East Germany led from the start and won gold a comfortable distance ahead of Czechoslovakia, with Romania edging West Germany by 0.16 seconds for bronze; the winning time of 7:17.25 stood as the Olympic record for the event.2 Lucke later recalled a mishap at the start, when Gunkel's sliding seat slipped from under him and the crew needed a few strokes to find its rhythm.4
The same crew stayed together through the mid-1970s. It finished as world silver medalist in 1974 in Lucerne, and in 1975, with the new coxswain Bernd Fritsch, Gunkel and Lucke became world champions in Nottingham.1
Life after rowing
Lucke trained as an electrical mechanic and later worked as a photographer, businessman and mechanic in Berlin.1 After his active career he ran a coal trade in the Altglienicke district of Berlin; after German reunification the coal business declined and he switched to mineral oil.4
In retirement he kept rowing. In 2022, at age 80, he and Bothe, then 81, still rowed from their old SC Grünau boathouse on the Berlin waters toward the Denkmal and the Bammelecke bend.4
References
- Jörg Lucke, Olympedia
- Coxed Pairs, Men, Munich 1972, Olympedia
- Rowing, Men's Coxless Pairs, Great Olympians
- Gold-Ruderer Jörg Lucke: Auch mit 80 lockt die Bammelecke, Berliner Kurier (2022)
Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Water sports › Rowers and coxswains › German and East German rowers › East German rowers
Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026
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