Fritz BONDROIT

Flatwater canoeist Fritz Bondroit and his partner Ewald Tilker appeared on the international scene in 1934 at the European Championships, winning the K-2 over 1,000 metres. Also in 1934, and again in 1935, they were the German K-2 Champions and then at the 1936 Berlin Olympics they won the silver medal.

At the 1936 Games the final proved to be a close affair, as at 600 metre mark, the Germans, Austrians, Swedes and Dutch were virtually level. As the Austrians sprinted away in the final stretch, the Swedish and German boats scrambled to keep up. In the mêlée, the Swedes bumped into the German boat, causing them to miss a few strokes. Sweden crossed the line second behind Austria, but was disqualified for interference, which meant the Germans (originally third) and the Dutch (originally fourth) moved up in the rankings. Bondroit trained as a metal worker and received a scholarship from his home-town Herford after the Olympics to study engineering.