Karl Heinz HOPP

A rowing talent at high school, Karl-Heinz Hopp joined RG Ditmarsia Kiel while at university. Between 1958 and 1961, he won a major international title every year. In 1958, he won the European title in the coxless fours. A year later, he joined the eights that dominantly won the European title, and grabbed the 1960 Olympic gold.

The 1960 crew was known as the “Ratzeburg” crew, even though their members came from both the Ratzeburg and Ditmarsia Kiel clubs, and their prowess was attributed partially to their new oar design. They won the first non-US gold in the eights since 1900 and were subsequently elected West German Team of Year as they were in 1959. They were also awarded the Silver Bay Leaf in both 1959 and 1960, the highest German sports award.

A fourth title followed for Hopp in 1961, when he won a third European title in the West-German coxed four. Also a six-time West German champion, Hopp then focused on other sports, and eventually made it to the German modern pentathlon selection. He was particularly fond of the riding phase of that sport, and later worked as a veterinarian. With his wife, he also set up a large horse stable in the vicinity of Lübeck, where he passed away in 2007.